Making A Mess of Things
by maile
Summary: COMPLETED October 4, 2004. Dom and Letty Pre--Post FATF. Caution- Contains Smut and Foul Language.
1. Default Chapter

D&L  Pre TFTF

I'm curled up on the couch under a blanket watching a movie with Mia and Dom.  It's Mia's 14th birthday today and since Dom's going out of town with their dad tonight, he started our 'celebration' at 12:01 am.  We were sleeping upstairs in Mia's room when he woke us up and handed Mia a basket of presents.  There were fourteen of them, all different sizes and wrapped in the Sunday comics.  I have to admit that once I got over being irritated at Dom for waking us up, I was impressed- and only just a little jealous of Mia and Dom.  Sometimes being an only child sucks.  Sure Dom can be an ass, but he's got Mia's back.  And even tho Mia's my girl, I don't have a lot of cash like Dom  does to buy her a fancy present.  Compared to his, mine'll look cheap….  

I thought I was hiding it pretty well, you know, being jealous and all, but when Mia was busy shrieking and being all girly about some sewing thing Dom'd gotten her, Dom looked over at me and started to laugh softly.

"What?" I asked nervously. 

"You're jealous." Dom leaned over and ruffled my hair, forcing me to slap his hand away.

"Shut up, you're loco."  I tried to fain interest in the 'Amazing' make up book that Mia was pouring over.  Just because Mi and I are best buds, doesn't mean I like any of that shit, but since it's her birthday I figured I'd pretend.  Hey- I can give her shit about it tomorrow.

"Little Letty Latch-on is jealous 'cause Mia's got a basket of presents and she ain't got none."  Dom whispered poking me.

"I said shut up.  It's Mia's birthday- what I'm s'possed to be jealous cause you bought her presents for once?  That's your job big bro."  I jabbed him hard in the ribs.  Luckily Mia was shrieking about present number three when I did 'cause Dom made a sound like a stuck pig when I did.  

"Man you're going to regret that brat," Dom wheezed as Mia ran to the bathroom to try something on.  

"You deserved it. You had it coming stupid." I gave him a satisfied smirk.

"Yea? You think so?  Well I guess I deserve this too then. I thought you had it coming, but hey."  Dom pulled a small flat box out of his jacket pocket and palmed it in his huge hands.  "I was probably being stupid."

I jerked back a little, surprised.  I cast a quick glance at the bathroom to make sure Mia was too busy to see me tackle Dom and try to wrestle the box from him.  "Give it."

"Nah.  It's Mia's birthday.  I heard it's my job to give her the presents.  I guess this one could be for good luck."  Dom laughed, keeping the box away from me with a little too much ease for my liking.  

"Give it Dom.  Hurry up before she gets back.  She'll be pissed at us for fighting on her birthday." I bit my lower lip and reached for the box again, trying to play the Mia card on him.  

"Well you better say please hella fast then huh?  'Please Dom can I have my present?' Say it Letty.  You know I'll keep it till I get back on Sunday if you don't."  Now it was his turn to smirk.  Arrogant bastard.

"Please Dom… can I have my present?"  I ground my teeth and glared at him as I asked.  I know I sounded like a spoiled brat, but sometimes Dom brings out the worst in me.  

Laughing he handed me the box and gave me a half hug, which I dodged so that I could tare the box open.  Inside there was a small silver key chain with four keys on it.  Moving back onto the bed I pulled the key chain out and fingered it slowly.  "What is it?  I mean what are they for?"  I looked up at him, curious.

Smiling he turned my hand on the side and spread the keys apart slowly.  "These two are for the front door- the big one is for the deadbolt."  He pushed the third key up slightly, "This one is for the garage." He paused, tracing the fourth one, and cleared his throat.  "And this one, this one is for your locker.  So you can keep shit at the garage." 

Startled, my head jerked up again.  Did he just say what I thought he did?

"Damn girl!  Are you tweaking?  What you been smoking?  Better yet, don't tell me.  I don't want to have to fire your ass already."  Dom laughed, making me want to slap him despite everything.

"Are you serious?  You're going to let me work at the garage?  On cars? For real?" I asked, for once not caring how eager my voice sounded.

"On real cars with engines and everything." Dom's lip twitched as he answered with mock sobriety.  

"Why? Why now?" I ask staring at the keys in awe.  

Dom shrugged. "You just turned 15 right?  That's why you got that shitty job at the market what, three weeks ago, so you could help out your ma, right?"

I nod.  It was five weeks ago, but who's counting.  I'm so happy right now that I'm not gonna correct him.

"Well when I asked Mia what she wanted for her birthday, we got to talking about how when she was little she wanted a sister and would get mad every year when she didn't get one till she met you in second grade.  She's been sad the last couple weeks 'cause she didn't get to see you all that much since you started work. She said she was going to ask for a fake id so she could get a job with you, but realized it wasn't as simple as that cause she'd have to cash the check someplace and pay taxes and shit."  Dom shrugged again.  "Anyways me and Pop realized the easiest way to make Mia happy was to get her sister back for her. We were gonna just give you the keys to the house, but since Bobby quit, we had a spot at the shop. Since Mia can work for Pop, and you needed a job- it just made sense."  

From the doorway of the bathroom Mia interjected dryly.  "You should have just said you gave her the job cause you know she's got skills Dom.  I don't know how you get any girls with that lame ass game you run."  

I laugh and roll my eyes in agreement.  

"Let's not a girl Mia, she's family."  Dom teases, putting me in an exaggerated head lock and pinching one of my cheeks.

"Dom you asshole, let me go!" I laugh.  Yeah he's being a jerk, but I'm still so high I don't really mind.  

  "Say thank you Dom!" He crooned as I slapped at him.

"Thank you Dommy!"  I sang in a fake sing songy voice.  "I love you forever Dommy, you're the best."

"That's right, don't you forget it neither!  And feel free to tell your friends."  Dom let me go, giving me one last pinch and slapping me on the back.  

Mia and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the same time- then burst out laughing.  

Dom got off the bed and walked to the door.  Standing in the frame, he turned back to us and smiled.  "When you two brats are done being retards, why don't you grab one of the bottom presents and come downstairs.  I'll start making the pancakes."  It was an established tradition that one of the three of us would cook pancakes for whomever else's birthday.  Whoever didn't cook had to do the dishes, which left me with them I guess.

We raced over to the basket and looked thru it for whatever it was that Dom was talking about.  

"He got me movies too!" Mia cried out, grabbing three rectangular boxes out of the basket.

"What'd he get you?" I asked, still playing with my keys.  

"Ooh- Romeo and Juliet with Leo and Clair Danes!  Oh and Titanic too! And… The Princess Bride!"  Mia gushed.  

"Nice.  I vote for anything without a sinking ship in it."  I may be a tomboy, but I secretly like some of Mia's cheesy movies.  Titanic was too much for me tho- especially when the other two movies were such classics.  

"Why not both?"  Mia smiled, looping her arm thru mine as we walked downstairs.  "This is great- now you get to work here with us and we can hang out again!"

I smiled.  "Yeah- I was surprised Dom was so cool about it. Usually he just says I'm too stupid to work on cars with him."

"Letty, you know you're not stupid, quit playing." Mia nudged me gently.

I shrug, trying not to let my self doubt show thru.  I get touchy about the fact that I'm a year older than Mia and we're in the same grade.  Growing up I spoke only Spanish at home till I went to school, and since we moved around so much when I was really small, none of my teachers realized I didn't understand what was going on till I flunked the second grade. Mia always says that it was a good thing I did, because if I hadn't, we wouldn't have become friends.

Trying to change the subject, Mia nodded toward the kitchen.  "He's getting better, don't you think?  Since he turned eighteen he's been less bitchy."  Mia raised her voice just enough so that Dom could hear us as we walked down the stairs.

"I heard that brat!" Dom's voice carried back into the living room from the kitchen.  "I may be bitchy, but I'm not deaf.  And FYI princess, guys are macho, not bitchy." 

We ate the pancakes and watched R&J.  We were half way thru The Princess Bride when I realized that it was 3 am and those dishes weren't going anywhere.  I try to get up as quietly as possible so as not to bother either Mia or the dozing Dom.  There aren't that many dishes, but Dom made a mess of the kitchen.  He likes to cook from scratch, so there's flour and shit all over the place.  He's lucky I'm so freaking happy with him today, otherwise I'd go in there and kick his ass.

"Come on, come on, you're almost there.  Won't you please come off?  I need you to get off so I can relax already," I mumbled to myself. I was on my hands and knees trying to scrub something nasty off of the ground.  Since no one was around, I didn't really care how ridiculous I looked so I put my whole body into it.  "Shit Dom, you really know how to grind it in there huh?"

Suddenly I hear Dom chuckle from the door way, and for the third time this morning he startles me into jumping half out of my skin.  "Damn Letty, I didn't know you were such a freak.  You really do have a year on Mia.  It's good to know you're good… with your hands even if you're a little slow."

I glare at him and throw the rag at him.  "Shut up Dom. Just because you like your puntas on their hands and knees doesn't mean I'll get on mine for you. Ever."

Catching the rag easily, he tossed it on the table, crossed his arms over his bare chest and arched his eyebrow.  "Who said anything about me wanting you on your knees little girl?"

"Filthy Asshole.  Besides, if I'm so stupid, how come it's me who's tutoring your ass in Spanish, eh hesse?" I say under my breath, glaring at him. Standing slowly I turned my back to him and started filling the sink.  I picked up some of the dishes and started to put them away, ignoring him. 

"Aww Let, don't be mad.  You know I'm just playing."  In the window I can see Dom strolling towards me. 

As he gets closer I grab a stack of plates and scoot away from him, putting them in the overhead cabinet.  I get the first two in no problem, but the last three go on the higher shelf which is almost out of my reach, even when I'm tip-toeing.  

Without a word, Dom comes up behind me, takes the dishes out of my hand and puts them away.  My body tenses and I become absolutely still as he presses against me, warm, firm and… damn it, this is Dom!  He's a pain in the ass prick who thinks he's the shit just cause he's a senior and we're just freshmen.  

He reaches over to the sink and grabs a few more plates to put away, his body never really breaking contact with mine.  After what seems like forever, he finally finishes putting them away.  "There.  All done."  His voice is hot in my ear, on my neck.  I feel my hair stand up under his breathe and I shiver ever so slightly.  

            Dom puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me around effortlessly, rubbing his thumb  up and down my arm slowly.  I stare at the light trail of hair that starts just under his belly button and disappears into his jeans.  "See, I can make nice and play clean too Let.  If you want me to."  

            I shiver again and look up at him, trying to keep my face blank.  "I never said I wanted to play with you Dom."

            He gives me that lazy shit eater grin of his again.  "You never said you didn't."

            As I start to roll my eyes at him he kisses me suddenly, putting his hands on the sides of my face.  I try half heartedly to back away but I have nowhere to go- I'm still pinned between the counter and Dom.  My heart is pounding so hard I can't think, can't hear.  As if detached from the jello that used to be my brain, I feel my lips start to move against his.  _What am I doing?_  I open my mouth to protest, to tell Dom that this little joke of his is going too far.  Almost instantaneously his tongue is touching mine, teasing the roof of my mouth.  I let out a startled gasp, breaking the kiss just enough to clothes my mouth.  The spinning in my head starts to slow and I notice that my hands are on his chest.  Even in my haze, I realize that his body feels so good under my fingers that I probably wasn't pushing him away as hard as I should've.  

            Dom slowly breaks the kiss completely, touching his forehead to mine.  "Kiss me back Lett." His voice is a little gruffer than usual, and something in it tempts me. "Open your mouth baby."

            I shivered again and my traitorous mouth obeyed him, regardless of what my overheated brain was screaming at it not to. I felt Dom smile and felt myself smile back at him.  He pulled me closer to him, his hands stroking my back.  His tongue traced my lips coaxingly, and hesitantly I parted them.  When his tongue touched mine for a second time, I gasped again and my hands balled against his chest.  

            Dom gently took my hands from his chest and put them on his shoulders.  He lifted me up onto the counter and stepped between my legs.  Taking a cue from my lips, they too mutinied against my once again useless brain and wrapped themselves around him.  "Bueno," he whispers into my ear, nibbling on it as his hands sneak up under my tank top.  

            My whole body is on fire.  I didn't expect this.  He never- I didn't know it could be like this.  I don't know what to say in response to the things he's whispering into my ear.  These things… if he'd growled them to me five minutes ago, I'd have tried to kick the shit out of him.  But now… I want.  I don't know what to say, or how to say it, so I kiss him, hard.  I open my mouth, just like how he taught me, and try to use my tongue to show him that I want those things.  

            Groaning into my mouth, Dom pulls away, despite my protests.  He puts a finger on my lips and shhushs me, nodding toward the door.  I swallow hard and nod.  He smiles and my temperature goes up another 10 degrees.  He leans back over to my ear, and asks me, "Do you trust me Letty?" His finger leaves my lips and trails down the front of my tank to the bottom.  When both of his hands have a piece of the edges in them, he asks me again.  "Do you baby?"  He kisses my neck and from somewhere far away I can hear my voice moaning softly, whining, filled with… need.  

            "Dom…" I choke out.  I try to kiss him, to show him what I'm feeling.  I start to babble in Spanish like an idiot.  "Por favor…me gusto….Podría ayudarme?"  He laughs at the fact that I'm talking total random nonsense. I smile again-I don't think he's ever stopped smiling, but he won't let me kiss him.  

            His hand are lifting my top up slowly, inching it up.  I burry my head in his neck and kiss him, sucking on his salty skin.  He uses his elbows to push mine up, and my body realizes what I can do to show him that I trust him.  I lift my hands up over my head. Without my top on, I can feel the early morning breeze flow thru the kitchen for a moment, but only for a moment.  After that, I can feel his eyes burning me, making me blush.  

            "God Letty, you're so damn beautiful you can get a man into trouble," he growls, running his hand from my cheek to my breasts, cupping them. When he rolls my nipples in his fingers, I hear myself whimper again.

Dom's body presses up against mine, chest to chest.  Balling my shirt up, Dom smashes it into his back pocket and kisses me again.  First his lips are on mine, then they are on my neck, my collar bone, my… My nails dig into his back, trying to pull him closer to me. I bite my lip hard to try not to cry out.  I can't… I can't think.  This is too much. 

            I pull Dom's head back up.  His lips cover mine and he lifts me up off the counter.  His hands massage my ass, as mine do the same to him.  I think I got the better end of the deal tho, cause he's wearing jeans and I just have a pair of boxers on.  I can feel the heat of his hands thru the thin material, but my poor hands are too far away from him.  I slip my hands down into his jeans, and when my fingers hit his bare ass, he groans into my mouth and grinds into me.  Once, twice- over and over again, rocking against me, almost into me.  

            Suddenly something in me breaks and this time I can't stop myself from crying out as I start to convulse.  Dom's fingers dig into my ass, pushing me forward as I ride the waves he's made in my body.  He groans and starts to shiver, collapsing into me and lowering me back onto the counter.  We rest there, our bodies twitching slightly, supported by the counter and the cabinet behind me, as we try to catch our breaths.

            Neither of us hear his father walk down the stairs and into the kitchen.  "Jesus Dom," he swears, seeing us together.  "She's barely fifteen, for Christ's sake."

            Horrified, I grab my top from Dom's back pocket, hiding my face and body behind him.  I hear Dom swear as he tries to protect me from his father's glare.  He looks over his shoulder and sees that the older Torretto has crossed over to the doorway to the living room to check and see if Mia is still awake.  As I struggle to get dressed I can see that thankfully the birthday girl is passed out on the floor.  

            Turning back to us and seeing that I was as close to "proper" again as possible given the circumstances, he explodes across the kitchen and slaps Dom across the top of his head, then yanks us both by our ears to the dinning table and makes us sit down.  "What the hell were you two thinking?"

            "It's my fault Dad, I started it."  Dom says, defending me.

            "Of course you started it, Letty's a good girl."  Anthony runs his hands thru his hair. He glances up at us when he hears Dom snort.  "You watch it, I'm not in the mood." He waves the back of his hand at Dom, who flinches.  "Besides, you know what I mean.  Leticia's not one of your Tran sluts.  She's practically family Dom.  I mean Christ, what were you thinking?"

            I sit there silent, not knowing what to do or say while Mr. Torretto rages on and on about how I'm too young, how Dom could go to jail for this sort of shit, how he thought he could trust us. I feel my eyes fill with tears and have to wipe my face when they start to overflow.  

            "Dad, stop, enough already, okay?  We get it.  We'll knock it off."  Dom says harshly.  It's the first time I've ever heard him talk back to his father.  I look over at him for the first time since we got caught and see his face is filled with concern.  He leans over and brushes my hair out of my face and squeezes my hand.  "It'll be okay," he says softly.

            Anthony stops pacing and glances back at us, sighing heavily.  "I don't want to find out this is still going on, do I make myself clear?  The two of you are not to be alone in the same room together, work on the same car together, see or talk to each other without someone else around.  Whenever Letty needs a ride to or from her house, I'll do it or Mia'll be in the car too. 

And I don't care how many people are in the room at the time Dom, I'll kick your ass if I see you touch her again."

            "I should go home." I say softly, making to stand up.

            Anthony shakes his head. "Not right now, and not looking like that you can't.  What are you going to say when your grandmother asks you why you're coming home at 3:45 in the morning?  Worse yet, if Pedro sees you he'll wip you so hard you won't be able to get to the phone to warn Dom that s.o.b. uncle of yours is on his way over to kick his ass."

            I shake my head and run my hand over my hair, trying to straighten it up a little.  "He's gone.  My grandma kicked him out last month when she found his crack pipe."  

            Anthony raises his hands to the sky.  "Finally, some good news!"    He sits down heavily at the table and looks over at us.  "Now I don't care who started what, or what the hell happened here tonight, but it doesn't leave this room.  No one finds out, especially not Mia. If it was up to her, the two fof you'd be married and having babies tomorrow.  I won't have her upset by this, or have Letty's reputation ruined.  Especially now since she's going to start working at the shop.  Do I make myself clear?"

            "Yes sir." Dom and I say in unison.  

            "Letty get upstairs and get cleaned up.  You're both going to need to cover up as much as you can since you and Rico Suave here marked each other up real good." I glance over at Dominic, who's head is in his hands, back towards me.  My eyes widen as I see the scratch marks I left on him.  Instead of feeling horrified and embarrassed like I should, for an instant I feel… proud like a predator.  I've marked my territory.  With a nod of his head, Tony dismisses me and I run upstairs to the shower, shaking              .    

            I close the bathroom door quietly and lock it.  Looking in the mirror, I see that he's right, I already have three hickies on my neck and shoulders. As I strip off my clothes I see two more on my chest.  Hearing the back door open and shut, I look out the open window, distracted.  

From the second floor I watched Anthony dragging Dom out to the fence by the ear.  In a scene I haven't witnessed in years, I see Dom drop his pants and brace himself for a paddling.  It didn't happen often, but when it did, you knew you had seriously fucked up.  As Tony started in on him, Dom glanced up at me and winked.  After a record five smacks, Mr. Torretto put the paddle down and sat down on the picnic table.  Dom pulled his pants back up quickly and headed back toward the house.  As he went, I heard his father ask him if it was worth it.

"Hell yeah." Dom said, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice.

Tony shook his head, laughing despite himself.  "You just keep your hands off her till she's legal Dominic.  I promised your mother that I'd die before I saw you get your ass thrown in jail."

"She's worth the wait Dad." Dom said almost tenderly.  He glanced back up at the window and caught my gaze.  "I'm going to make her mine."  Even in the darkness I could feel the possessiveness in his eyes and hear it in his voice.  

Tony shook his head.  "If you hurt her Dom, I'll kick your ass just as hard as I would if some asshole were to break Mia's. Letty's different from all those skanks you've been dating."   

"I know Dad. Maybe that's the problem, huh?"  Dom said as they entered the house together, laughing.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *


	2. Graduation

D/L  Pre FATF.  Don't own them, don't sue.  Lots of swearing, not much down and dirty. 

After that night we didn't talk about what happened.  I didn't tell Mia and Dom didn't tell Vince.  If either of them noticed anything, they didn't talk to us about it.   Dom went back to dating nameless skanks. I pretty much went back to being alone.  Slowly things fell into a rhythm.  I'd ignore Dom.  Dom would ignore me.  Some bitch ass girl would call or show up at the house, garage or store and I'd make some comment at her expense.  Dom would fire back with some bullshit like "at least she's legal" or "jealous 'cause she's a real woman" type of thing.  I'd turn red, get super pissed and storm off or give him the finger and not talk to him again till the next girl showed up.  

            We spent two months doing this shit to each other on an almost daily basis.  Dom graduated in June and I got dragged to the ceremony.  Before all our bull shit I wouldn't have thought of ditching, but now things were different.  Watching girls throw themselves at him every day at school was one thing.  Going to a "family" event like graduation and not being allowed to give him a hug was another.  Worse yet my tia was in town and she made me get all dressed up for it. Even though I know I looked damn good in the outfit she picked out for me, I threw a bitch fest trying to get out of wearing it.  The last thing that vato needed was an even bigger ego. Shit, we both knew in the end I'd be wearing that black and white halter dress with that flowing hemline just for him. 

            Of course my aunt won.  On the day of graduation she did my hair and make up and everything.  Nothing too fancy, I still looked like me, but shit I looked good. My grandma even let me wear this hat she had from when she was younger.  I dunno much about fashion and shit, that's Mia's department, but I know that hat made the outfit.  Without it, I looked hot.  With it, I looked classy. And I liked that. 

When I walked up to the Torretto's the sun was behind me and I could see Mia and her dad waiting for me on their porch.  Dom and Vince were throwing a football on the lawn.  I waved at Mia, but I could tell she couldn't recognize me in my new outfit. A few seconds later when I got a little closer I heard her shriek of recognition.  In that instant Dom turned to see what the fuss was about and got smacked hard in the face by the perfect spiral Vince had launched at his head.  The whole thing was so funny I couldn't help but laugh.  

"Fuck Vince, you almost took my fucking head off!" Dom shouted.

"Holly shit, Letty looks like a girl!  Daaaaamn girl, you look good." Vince crowed, jogging up to me with Mia right behind him.  

Mia slapped him in the back of the head and gave me a big hug.  "Letty you look amazing," she said softly.  "Just like your mom."

I smiled at that, and gave her a squeeze. "Thanks Mi." I looked over her shoulder and saw Dom and Anthony fighting quietly about something and felt a chill go thru me.  Yeah I wanted to mess with Dom's head a little, but I didn't want to piss off Anthony. I slid out from under Mia, raised my eyebrows at Vince and walked up the driveway.  

Dom cleared his throat and slowly nodded at me.  "You look nice today chica."  

I blushed a little, but managed not to fidget too much under his hooded gaze.  "Thanks Dom.  You do too.  Except for that black eye."  

Rubbing his cheek bone, Dom winced. "Yeah well, I bet it makes me look dangerous. Ruggedly handsome and all that shit."

"So what, you're not going to kick Vince's ass for that?" I teased, giving Anthony a hug.

"My boy knows better than that.  Don't you Dom?"  To Vince and Mia, I'm sure the conversation seemed like old times.  But us three, we knew it meant something different.  Dom gave a curt nod, never tearing his eyes from mine. "Good.  I'm glad to see I raised you right.  It makes a father proud, to see how well his kids are growing up."  Planting a kiss on my forehead, he winked at me.  "All of them."

"So what Dad, you saying Letty's all grown up?"  Dom's voice was tight.  I could see him flexing his hands around the football. 

Anthony shrugged.  "Sure looks like it.  At least for today.  You coming to Dom's graduation party tonight mija?"  

My mouth went dry.  What?  Did he mean that- I mean was he saying what I thought he was?  It didn't really matter I guess, cause for one of the first times since that night, I had plans.  I looked at Dom and shook my head no.  "I ah, I can't."  

Dom's eyes harden and he begins to slap the football from one hand to the other.  "Why not?  This isn't like every other party Let.  You heard my dad, tonight we all get to play grown ups."

Naïve little Mia slips her arm thru mine and giggles.  "She can't come because she has a date with Adrian Suarez. He's going to cook for her at his father's restaurant and then take her to-"

I squeeze Mia's hand tightly and cut her off.  "It's not a big deal.  But I ah, kinda promised him I'd go."

Anthony scratched his head and looked back and forth between us.  "So this Adrian kid, is he your boyfriend?"

I shrugged lightly.  "I'm dating him if that's what you mean."

"How come I didn't hear about him before?" Anthony asked, crossing his arms slowly and raising an eyebrow.  

"We just started dating a couple of weeks ago." I smiled shyly.  

"You like him?"  Dom asked softly.  "He plays soccer right?"

"Varsity.  He's… sweet." I shrug again, feeling like I'm being questioned by the 5-0.  Like I said, after that night I went back to _pretty mucht_ being alone. 

"Is he in one of your classes or something?"  Dom asked.  

"We're both in A.P. Spanish and we have shop and history together." I watch as Mia, Vince and Anthony walk back up to the house.  

"Isn't he a junior? He's too old for you."  Dom glowered. 

"He skipped a grade and he's late born too, so he was young for his grade to begin with.  Like Mia. He's only like a year older than me. Shit Dom, why you gotta give me crap for this?  He's a nice guy, you know that."

"He's a fucking over achieving jock Letty.  Since when did you care about school spirit shit?"  Dom growled.

"I didn't say anything when you-" 

"Bull shit.  You gave me crap for each and every one of the girls I-"

"That's right Dom _every_ one.  Adrian is the only one I've dated since-"

"Keep your voice down!  Fuck Letty, Mia or Vince might hear," Dom wouldn't look at me as he spoke slowly, staring at the house.

            "So what, you're ashamed of me now?  I thought you said I was special," I choked. 

            "Letty, I'm a man. I'm can't wait around for a year for you to grow up."  Dom sighed.

            "Maybe you're the one who should fucking grow up Dom.  I'm going out with Adrian tonight after graduation and I'm going to keep going out with him because I like him.  I didn't ask you to keep it in your pants, and you have no right to ask me to sit at home waiting for you while you stick it in any where or any one who'll take it. Now shut the fuck up and smile, they're coming back."  I walked away from him with a plastic grin on my face for Mia's sake.  

            We rode to the graduation ceremony in Mr. Torretto's Charger.  Dom drove and Vince sat in the front while me, Mia and their dad squished in the back.  Mia and Vince made small talk while Dom glared at me in the rear view mirror.   I tried not to look back at him, but I couldn't help it.  Tony squeezed my hand once when he saw Dom shake his head at me, but it didn't help much.  Even though I knew I hadn't really done anything wrong I felt like a tramp.  

            When we pulled into the parking lot Vince let the Torretto's out on his side and Dom let me out on his.  I was about to start walking toward the stadium when Dom grabbed my hand and stopped me.  

            Looking into my eyes, Dom stroked my cheek.  "Don't go out with him tonight Letty."  Dom whispered in my ear.  

            I stood absolutely still for a moment, soaking up Dom's touch.  God, he only touched me like this once before and already I'm an addict.  "Look Dom… We can't do this dawg.  You know that.  Your father's going to flip his shit if he sees. I saw him bitching you out earlier.  I don't want to ruin today for either of you."

            Dom stepped closer to me, pinning me between his hard body and the Charger.  Why did it feel like I was being trapped every time Dom and I started something?  "Tonight's different."  He forced a soft laugh.  "It's… like a graduation present or something."

            "And what do I get out of it?" I asked, my voice almost cracking.  "If I go to the party tonight, what happens to me tomorrow?  What am I supposed to do when that Tran bitch calls the garage for you?  I can't do this Dom.  I won't."  

            "So what, you're just going to go fuck that vatjo Suarez tonight?  Shit Letty, you know I can't touch you again till your birthday," Dom spat.  

            Shocked, I pushed him off me and slapped him hard.  "What the fuck Dom?  Watch yourself.  I don't care if it is your fucking big day, I'm not like that and you know that.  Are you trying to hurt me?"  I crossed my arms and looked away.  In the distance I could see Mia waiting for me by the entrance, which only made me swear again.  

            Sensing that something other than his thick head was stressing me out, Dom looked around and stroked my arm. "What?  What's wrong?"

            "Mia's watching."  I shook my head in defeat.  "Look, I have to go.  Happy fucking graduation Dom.  Like I said, maybe now you'll grow up." 

            "Letty…." Dom called out after me as I walked away as quickly as I could without looking like a freak.  "Baby don't do this.  Please."

            My chest almost exploded when I heard him beg, but somehow I kept walking and pulled out that plastic smile again for Mia.  "Hey girl, how you livin?" I asked, trying to play it cool.

            "You want to tell me what that was all about?" Mia asked, arching her eyebrow at me.  

            "What do you mean?" I asked, handing my ticket to the guy standing at the entrance.  

            "You and Dom." Mia kept her voice light, but I wasn't fooled. The girl knew something was up.

            "Nothing.  He wanted me to go to the party tonight, that's all."  I shrugged and scanned the crowd for her dad.  

            "And that's why he practically kissed you?"  Mia asked, boring holes into my skull with her eyes.

            "I don't know what you're talking about." I don't think my denial was particularly effective as I was beet red.

            "Bull shit Letty."  Mia grabbed my arm, making me look at her.

            I sighed and shrugged.  "Look, Mia… whatever you think is happening between me and Dom can't happen right now, okay?  He's 19.  I'm 15.  It just can't happen.  So drop it."  

            "Since when did you give up on what you wanted chica?"  Mia's voice was soft and sorrowful.

            I wanted to tell her the truth.  I wanted to tell her that I hadn't wanted it until Dom had shown me what it could be like.  That I'd had to give up on it since when her father basically said he'd beat the shit out of the us if he caught us together.  But I didn't.  "Mia, I'm with Adrian.  Dom's with… who the fuck knows who he's with today, but I'm sure he's with somebody.  Please, just drop it okay?" 

            "Do you love him?"  Mia asked.

            "Who, Adrian?  No, not yet.  But he's a good guy Mia.  Maybe I will fall in love with him."  I wonder if Mia could hear the hope in my voice.  If she could, she probably didn't realize it was there because I knew my life would be that much easier with Adrian.  And maybe easier would be better.  

            "I meant Dom."  

            I give her a quick half hug.  "Of course I love Dom Mia. I've known him forever.  It's like he's always been there.  I love all of you Torrettos.  You know that.  Look, there's your father.  Lets just go watch the ceremony, okay?"   I knew Mia had more to say, but I took her hand and ran up to the empty seats her father was holding for us and sat down.  

            Somehow I managed to sit thru the two hour ceremony even though all three of the Torretto's kept looking at me like they wanted to dissect my brain and see what I was thinking.  Afterwards the three of us walked down to meet Dom and Vince on the track.  All around us there were all these happy people.  I wanted to be happy for Vince and Dom too.  This was a big day for them- they were free.  But me, I still felt trapped.  

            Seeing us, Vince grabbed both Mia and I and twirled us around in the air.  I was laughing so hard I didn't notice when my hat flew off and my hair came loose.  When he set us down I was so dizzy I had to take a step back.  Instantaneously Dom was behind me, his hands on my hips to steady me.  Without thinking I leaned into him and sighed, letting him wrap his arms around me.  I closed my eyes and breathed in his sent, almost missing the metallic car smells that usually accompanied him.  

            It was the flash from Mia's camera that brought me back into the moment.  She looked at me with that arched eyebrow of hers and then turned to take a picture of her dad and Vince.  I took a step away from Dom and cleared my throat.  Feeling my hair on my neck I looked around for my grandmother's hat, only then realizing that Mia was wearing it.  I guess that moment in Dom's arms was a little longer than I thought.

            "Don't I get a graduation hug Let?"  Dom asked softly against the back of my neck.  

            "Dominic…"  I turned around slowly and stared up at him.  I scanned his face, trying to memorize how he looked at this moment.  I wanted to remember the day when he wanted me more than any of the others.  He gave me this huge goofy smile and I laughed and gave him a big hug.  No matter what else happened, this was Dom, my hero from before I knew what a hero was.  He squeezed me tight, like it was our last hug ever.  I couldn't breathe because my face was smashed up against his chest.  I didn't mind though, because that meant no one could see the tears in my eyes either. 

            When he finally let go, I looked back up at him and saw that his face was grim.  He cracked his neck slowly, first to the left, then to the right.  Turning around I saw what had ticked him off.  Adrian was standing there with a rose for me, smiling because he was totally clueless. 

            I put my hand on Dom's arm to try to calm him down.  "Dominic, I have to go now, but I'll see you later okay?"  My voice was soft and gentle, like I was talking to a small child or an injured animal.  

            For some reason I wasn't surprised when Dom's eyes softened when he looked at me and nodded.  He kissed my forehead and tried to smile.  "I know."  He paused for a moment before continuing almost hesitantly.  "If you still want to, you can come tonight.  After I mean.  We could just talk.  I promise.  I miss you Letty."

            I swallowed and nodded, glancing over at Adrian.  Thankfully Mia had pulled him into some conversation and he had his back to us.  I let Dom touch his forehead to mine and stroked his cheek.  "I miss you too Dom." 

            Seeing that it was okay to let Adrian turn around, Mia brought him back toward us.  I know Dom and Tony want her to be a doctor, but damn the girl could be an actress.  Trying to copy her, I smiled at Adrian and nodded.  "Nice hat Mi."

            Mia winked and laughed.  "What, you mean this old thing?   It's been around forever, but for some reason I just realized how perfectly it goes with everything today."  She patted it affectionately.    She looked over at Dom and slipped her arm thru his.  "Don't you agree Dom?"

            "You're right Mia, it's perfect," Dom said, staring at me.  

            Blushing, I took Adrian's hand and smiled.  "Shall we go?" Adrian nodded and waved at the Torretto's.  

We were about fifty feet away when Dom shouted out my name, causing us both to turn around.  "Don't forget about tonight, okay?  Stop by whenever." He said, like it was no big deal.  

I nodded and turned back toward the exit.

            "What's he talking about?" Adrian asked, still totally clueless.  

            "His dad is letting him and Vince have a few people over.  They asked if I wanted to go, but I said I couldn't because I already had plans."  I smiled as Adrian opened the car door for me. 

"Thank you for my rose Adrian.  You didn't have to do that."

            Adrian smiled from ear to ear.  "You like it?  I didn't know if it was too mushy or whatever.  I just want tonight to be special."

            My heart melts a little because I can tell he genuinely means it and isn't running game on me.  "I like it."  Without thinking, I lean over and give him a soft kiss on the lips.  He kisses me back eagerly.  It's nice, but nothing like Dom's kisses.  Adrian is nothing like Dom period.  I don't know whether to love him or hate him for it.

            We drove from school to his father's restaurant, which conveniently is closed on Sundays.  As we walk in I see what seems like the light from a thousand candles filling the room.  "Oh my god Age, this is amazing.  You left all these lit?"

            He nodded and bit his lip.  "But I made sure the sprinkler system was working before I did.  Don't ask.  My dad sure as hell didn't last night when he walked in after closing to find me soaking wet and moping the floor at 3 in the morning."

            Despite all the shit between me and Dom right now, I had to laugh.  I loved hanging out with Adrian because he always made me forget whatever was bothering me.  Even before Mia's birthday Adrian had been one of the few guys at school who'd done it for me.  

It was almost ironic.  Adrian and I only began to hang out after Mia's birthday.  Not being able to be alone with Dom made it hard to just hang around the house chilling with Mia.  One day in Spanish Adrian figured out that I was feeling down and spent the rest as a Mexican soap opera actor trying to figure out my "unbearable secret."  If it had been anyone else, I'd have ended up in detention for kicking the shit out of them.  But somehow, it was just hilarious when Adrian did it. I didn't even object when he asked Senora Guzman if we could be partners on our final project.  

Since then things have sort of evolved into this.  I never did tell him that the reason I was down that day was because of Dom.  Even though he's pissed now, Dom should be thankful that Adrian and I were dating because now I understand why Dom always has a new girl on his arm.  It's easier to be with someone. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with, right?

The evening with Adrian went pretty well.  We spoke in Spanish the whole night, which was sort of comforting.  He made me _sopón__ de pollo con arróz _y _pastels._  We talked about school and family.  He told me about the scouts who'd come to watch his games and how he wasn't sure where he wanted to apply next year.  

"Where do you want to go to college?"  he asked, setting the food on the table.

I laughed and brushed the hair out of my face.  "You're kidding, right?" 

He made a face and frowned.  "What do you mean?  Haven't you thought about it already?  I know you're only a freshman, but I mean you've already got one A.P. class under your belt."

"Adrian, Spanish doesn't count.  Shit my Spanish is still better than my English, you know that."  I rubbed my shoulder self consciously.  

"So go to college in Puerto Rico.  You still have family there, right?"  

"I'm not going."  I said softly, staring at my plate.

"What?  Why not?"  Adrian's shock was evident.

"My family can't afford it.  My grandmother's diabetes is starting to act up and I never see my mom as it is because she's always working.  Besides, what do I need college for when all I want to do is work with cars?  That's the only thing I'm any good at anyways."  I shrugged, trying to make light of it. 

"Letty, what are you talking about?  You're really smart.  Hell, I bet all that stuff you know about cars will translate well into science or something."  Adrian took my hand from across the table and kissed it.

I blushed. "School and I aren't friends.  You know that."

Adrian wiggled his eyebrows and leaned forward. "There was a time when you and I weren't friends."

I laughed and rolled my eyes.  "I just don't think it's going to happen, okay?  Can we just drop it for now?"

Adrian shook his head, but shrugged in defeat.  "I'll let it go, but I still think you should at least think about going to college.  You can do anything you want Letty. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're-"

I leaned forward and kissed him gently across the table.  He believed in me.  He thought I was pretty.  Maybe he's not Dom, but maybe that was a good thing.  Wasn't it?


	3. Get the Party Started

Down Low.  

DL pre FATF, Chapter 3.  Swearing, smut, and some physical confrontations.  

Don't own the characters from the FATF, or the dialogue borrowed from Girl Fight.  Just thought the characters in GF would mirror Dom and Let pretty well so I super-imposed GF into this chapter.  Much props to Kusama-sama for writing and directing GF to begin with.

            After dinner Adrian did the dishes while I went around blowing out all the candles and cleaning up the dining room.  I counted 324 candles. Damn. "Adrian.  What do you want me to do with all these candles?"

            Wiping his hands on a rag, he walked back in to the room.  "Just leave them for now.  We have to get going. The carnival is only open till 10:30 and it's almost 8 already."

            "Are you sure?"  I looked around at the stumps of wax.  "What about all of this?"

            "I'll take care of it later.  Come on.  I want to show off my girl."  He tossed the towel on the table and took my hand.  

            "Oh so now I'm your girl huh?"  I teased I waited for him to lock up.

            Grinning he gave me a quick peck on the lips.  "Si." 

            I laughed and followed him to his father's Camry.  "So you're telling me I'm dating a guy who drives a Camry.  His father's Camry."

            "Not dating, going steady."  Adrian laughed.  "And what's wrong with Camry's?  They're safe, they're reliable, spacious."

            "They're boring." I rolled my eyes and put the seat back a little.

            "Obviously you have no imagination," Adrian said as he reversed. 

            "What do you mean? You're thinking of suppin up the car or something?"  I asked, evaluating it.

            "No," he snorted.  "Who cares about what it looks like on the outside.  I like the car because of what it has to offer on the inside."

            I frown and look around. Standard cloth interior, factory sounds, the Virgin Mary on the dash, a Puerto Rican flag hanging from the mirror.  "What?"

            "Letty, sometimes you crack me up.  Always so tough and grown up, but you're so… I don't know, innocent too."  He takes my hand and kisses it.  "I like this car because it's big enough to fool around in."

            I blush beet red and look at him fascinated.  "What, you mean… in the car?"

            "I thought you'd like the idea."  Adrian teased.  "You love cars."

            "Yeah but… It's your father's car Adrian. Doesn't it seem, I don't know, disrespectful?"  I asked, stealing glances at him.

            He laughed and shook his head.  "Since when did you worry about authority figures?  Listen, we don't have to do anything tonight.  We'll wait till you're ready, and even then, we'll only do as much as you want."

            "Have you had sex before?" I ask watching him.

            "Well that was blunt."  

            "Well? Have you?"  

            "Yeah.  Does that bother you?"  Adrian asked as he pulled into a spot.  

            I shrug.  "Not really.  Should it? Would it bother you if I'd been with someone?"

            "It depends.  If it had been a lot of guys, then yeah, maybe."  

            I nod and bite my lip.  "Does it bother you that I haven't?"

            "No."  Adrian looked at me like I was crazy.  "Shit, that's better than having to live up to a legend like Torretto."

            Startled, I look up at him.  "What do you mean?"  

            "Nothing, it's just that Dominic is like a fucking legend at school, you know that."

            "So what, if I'd been with Dom, I'd be used goods?"  I stare hard at him.  "Nobody says Dom's used goods and he's the one sleeping around.  What the fuck?"

            "Letty, chill.  I know Dom's your friend but he has nothing to do with me and you.  I was just saying that it would be hard on my ego being compared to Dom all the time."

            I look out the window and shrug Adrian's hand off me when he tries to calm me down.  A thousand thoughts are running thru my head right now.  He's right, Dom does have a reputation and most girls who go out with him do too afterwards.  And for him it would suck to be compared to Dom because he'd loose.  He looses every time.  I know because I do it.  Suddenly the car is too small for me and I can't breathe. 

            "Take me home."  I say softly.

            "What?  Letty, what's the big deal.  Look I'm sorry about what I said about Torretto, okay?"  Adrian looked wounded and shocked.   He didn't deserve this.

            "Adrian… please, just take me home, okay?  I know I'm not making any sense, but just… I want to go home now.  Please?"  I feel guilty just looking at him.

            "Fine."  He sighed and started the engine.  "Whatever."  

            We drove in silence, not looking at each other.  

            He pulled up to the curb and stopped the car.  "We're here."  

            I looked at him, trying to figure out what to say.  

            "Do you have a thing for Torretto?" he asked. 

            "Adrian…"   I stared at my hands, not knowing what to do.  Should I tell him the truth, that I wanted Dom and Dom wanted me?  What good what that do when I knew I couldn't really be with Dom?  And though I could be with Adrian, I didn't want to if the boy was already paranoid about Dom.  Adrian shouldn't have to be Dom's pitch hitter.  

            "Do you?"  Adrian asked again, his voice hard.

            "I love Dominic, I have since I met him.  The Torretto's are more like family to me sometimes than my own is.  I work with Dom, I sleep over there all the time. I'm not one of 'his girls' and I'd never want to be.  But what you said earlier, about being compared to Dominic and how you didn't want to be, well, I do that already.  I compare you to Dom all the time, and I realize that it just isn't fair.   Not to you, not to me.  It's fucked up, I know. So what I'm saying is, what you said earlier, it just… it made me feel guilty.  And I don't like feeling that way."

            "So what, it's over?"  Adrian tried to sound tough, like he didn't care, but his voice cracked.  

            "If it helps, I'm not breaking up with you to be with Dom.  If you see Dom tomorrow with some girl, it won't be me."  I sighed, and started to open the door.

            Adrian pulled me to him suddenly, pressing his lips up to mine and kissing me hard.  Startled, I let him kiss me for a moment, then gently pulled away.  "This isn't a good idea Adrian.  You deserve a lot more than I can give you."

            "And you deserve a lot more than he'll give you Letty.  You know that don't you?"  Adrian said softly.

            I laughed softly as tears came to my eyes.  "I know.  Fucking sucks for both of us, doesn't it?"  

            Adrian surprised me by laughing too.  "Look, if it doesn't work out with Dom, then give me a call, okay?  If that pendejo doesn't realize what he's got, obviously he doesn't measure up to the legend."  

            I smiled and squeezed his hand, then got out of the car.  I watched Adrian pull away, then headed up toward the Torretto's.  It was only 8:03, I'm sure that Dom wasn't expecting me yet.  God, I hope I didn't just break up with Adrian to walk in and find Dom swapping spit with some bitch.  That would suck.  

            As I get closer, I can hear the bass thumping and see people dancing.  The light is on in Mia's room, I guess she's up there studying.  I think back to earlier in the night when Adrian asked if I was going to college.  It's funny, we all assumed Mia was going, but no one ever talked about me or Dom going.  I guess we all just thought Dom would help out with the shop or the garage.  I wonder what they thought I was going to do with the rest of my life.  

            For some reason I decide to enter the house thru the back door.  Half an hour ago Adrian had made me feel… all precious and shit.  Kinda sucks that just walking into Dom's house could make me feel vulnerable.  As I walk up the steps to the back door, I hear someone call my name from somewhere in the back yard.  It's Dom.

            "Hey," I say nervously as he emerges from the darkness with a beer in one hand and a joint in the other.  "You're dad's going to kick your ass for touching that shit Dom.  It makes you sloppy."

            He grins and pinches it out with his calloused fingers.  "Better?  ¿Quieres tomar algo?"  He takes another sip of his beer and then offers it to me.

            I laugh softly.  "Dom, you don't need to do that."  I cross my arms and look at him, watching him stalk toward me slowly.  He's unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves.  His wife beater is visible now, as are his forearms.  Goddamn he's fine.   

            "What?" He asks, sitting on the picnic table and motioning for me to come join him.

            "Speak in Spanish." For some reason I'm blushing as I take my first few steps toward him, closing the gap between us.

            "I thought you liked it.  You went out with that Puerto Rican right?"  Dom's voice was light, like he was joking, but even in the dark I could tell his eyes were hard.

            Standing in front of him I put my hands on his knees.  He spread them apart and pulled me to him.  Even though our roles are reversed from that day two months ago, I have a flash of déjà vu.  "Don't be like that Dominic.  I came, didn't I?"  I watch him swallow and nod his head slowly.  I stroke his cheek then rest my forehead against his.  

            "How was dinner?" He winces as I pull away from him.  "Sorry, forget I asked."  He puts one hand on my ass and one on the small of my back.  His touch is possessive, apologetic, and sensual all at the same time. 

            I sigh.  "What are we doing? This is fucking crazy Dominic." I stare into his eyes, searching for an answer.  "Half the time we're in the same room we're fighting."

            With a lazy grin Dom captures my bottom lip and starts nibbling on it, kissing me slowly. At this moment I want to thank each and every girl that came before me for teaching him how to turn me inside out in a matter of heartbeats.  I melt and wrap my arms around his waist.  He tastes slightly of beer and limes.  The pot mingles with his cologne and sweat to make him smell 100% manly. Slowly he breaks the kiss, stroking my back with his strong fingers. "Letty?"

            "Hmm?" I'm leaning against him for support now, my body humming.

            "We're not fighting now."  He kisses my neck, trailing kisses down my bare shoulders. I smile and let out a sigh as he sucks on the bit of flesh between my neck and collar bone.  "Mmm, you like that?"  Dom asks, growling his approval at the soft noises coming from my throat.

            Becoming greedy, I pull his head back up so that I can kiss him.  I never feel so soft and feminine as when I'm in Dom's arms.  It is never like this with Adrian.  Feeling hungry, I press myself against Dom, trying to devour him whole.  I shiver as his laughter rumbles out from his chest, my body absorbing the vibrations. I cry out in loss when he breaks our kiss and puts a hand between us.  We're both breathing hard as we stare at each other.  I can't decide if I'm the hunter or the prey, if I'm scared or thrilled.  

            His eyes burn me as he looks me over slowly from head to toe. Burying his left hand in my hair, the fingers on his right hand slowly walk from my chin down to my chest.  He cups my breast in his hand, then kisses the top of it.   "I don't want you going out with him anymore Letty.  I don't want that busta's hands on you.  No soy un carbon, mija."  

            For the second time that day I slap him, but when I do his hand tightens in my hair, pulling me back just hard enough so that I glare at him.  "Let go of me," I hiss at him.

            "No."  Dom carefully grabs first one then both of my hands and holds them so that I can't slap him again.  "You shouldn't hit people."  His voice is condescending. 

            "I couldn't resist. You shouldn't call me a whore." I snarl at him, my heart breaking.

            "Then don't give me a reason to.  Don't see him again."  Dom's voice was harsh now, and the chill that ran down my spine was a hell of a lot different than the ones he'd given me earlier.  

            "You're the one who's fucking everything on two legs Dom, not me," I spit out, trying unsuccessfully to twist out of his grip. "Besides, I'm not your girlfriend, so technically, even if I was screwing Adrian, you wouldn't be a carbon anyway."

            "You are my girl, and we both fucking know it, so don't give me any of that bull shit."  Dom said in a deadly calm voice.  

            "No." I glared at him, twisting hard enough to finally break away.  I made a mad dash for the gate, trying to get as far away from Dominic as I could.  I didn't get very far. 

            Dom hoisted me up over his back as if I weighed nothing.  He had the cajones to laugh as he threw open the door to the house and ran up the stairs as I hit and kicked him.  I heard Vince and some drunk ass skank laugh at us as Dom took the stairs two at a time. They must not have recognized me, because Vince made some comment about Dom always having a mystery girl of the moment and how it wasn't worth trying to learn their names cause they never stuck around long enough to make it worth the trouble.  This totally pissed me off even more.  I wanted to scream insults at Dom, but I knew better so I ranted at him in a tight angry voice.  Somehow it just didn't have the same power.

            When we got to Dom's room, my anger started to change back to fear.  Being with, no being near Dom was like being on a fucking roller coaster.  Dom flipped the lights on and then closed and locked the door.  I'd stopped kicking, stopped swearing and tensed up.  Dom lay me down gently on the bed, straddling me lightly.  "Mija…"  He kissed first my left, then my right palm, then released them.

            "I shouldn't be here Dominic."    I scooted up so that I was sitting against the back board and Dom was just sitting on my calves.  Nervously I ran my hands thru my hair, surprised to feel it still had some curl in it.  "Your father said we couldn't."

            "Today's different, remember?"  He smiled and my heart stopped.  

            "It's not Dominic, you know it's not, not really.  We're still fighting just as much.  I mean you can't even kiss me without making me hate you."  I pull my knees up to my chest and try really hard not to cry.  "You heard what Vince said.  He doesn't even bother to learn the names of all your girls."  

            "He already knows your name mija."  Dom's voice was so gentle, his eyes… God, how can he do this to me so damn easily?  "No one could forget you."

            "I can't Dom."  Gesturing between us, I went on.  "I can't do this tonight and then watch every other girl in California climb up and down those stairs and know that they're touching you in this bed.  It'll fucking kill me to know that it's their hands on your body, not mine."  I stare at him, wanting him to see how much he's hurting me.  "It'll fucking kill me to know that you can just replace me with any fucking ho who throws herself at you." The tears are streaming down my face now.  "I don't know if I hate you more for showing me what it could be like and even though you know I can't have you, or for making me feel so fucking weak and stupid for wanting you anyway." A bitter laugh escapes.  "Or maybe I just hate you because one minute you act like I'm special to you, like no one else in the world matters besides us, and then the next you're accusing me of being a whore when you know-."  I stop abruptly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

            "What?  What do I know?"  Dom tries to coax it out of me.  He takes off his dress shirt and uses it to wipe the tears from my face.  I close my eyes so I won't have to see him be so damn tender.  "Tell me Letty."

            "No."  I pout, shaking my head in denial like a child.

            "Mija… tell me."  Dom wipes the last of my tears from my face then kisses my forehead.  I feel him move and hear the shirt land somewhere in the far corner of the room.  "You don't really hate me, do you? Because that would make me so sad mija. It would break my heart."  I open my eyes slowly as he takes one of my hands in his and puts it over his heart.  He leans back and looks at me, pulling me forward just slightly.  I'm off balance now- literally and figuratively.

            "I wish I hated you Dom.  If I was strong enough I'd hate you."  I say softly.  

            "If you were strong enough you'd love me," Dom challenges me, his voice just as soft.  "Tell me you haven't been with him mija."  

            I take a deep breath and look up at him, my chin resting on the arms I've crossed over my chest and propped on my knees.  "You know I haven't Dom."  God I feel so fucking weak for telling him when what I really wanted to say was that it wasn't any of his fucking business.

            He reaches out and tries to stroke my hair, but I flinch slightly.  He deliberately does it again, this time successfully.  Somehow I can tell he's relaxed a little, but he goes all big body on me.  His ego has puffed up even more so that I feel like he's filling the whole room.  "Good."

            "That doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you tonight Dominic," I say, lifting my head  defiantly.  Why does that sound so fucking childish?  

            Dom just shakes his head and laughs softly, stretching.  His attitude really has changed now that he knows for sure that I didn't sleep with Adrian.  "I know Let, believe me, I know." 

            I know he said more than that, but I got distracted watching his muscles flex.  It wasn't often that I got to stare at his body, especially not up close like this. Feeling my face start to get flushed, I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind.  "Huh?"

            Dom was staring at me with this knowing look on his face.  "Do you like my body mija?"  

            It was my turn to swallow hard now.  Since we both the knew what the answer was, I shrugged and nodded.  "Don't let it go to your head."

            "You like my body better than that paco novio of yours?"  

            I glare at him, knowing full well he's being an asshole on purpose.  "Don't call him that.  When you say shit like that you look like an ignorant racist prick, you know that?  Adrian's a nice guy, he doesn't deserve any of this."  

            "The fuck he doesn't," Dom spits out.  "That pa- boy put his hands on you Letty.  No one puts their hands on my girl."  

            I roll my eyes, refusing to have this fight with him again.  "What do you want me to say Dominic?  Everything you're thinking about Adrian is what I think about every one of the girls you've fucked since Mia's birthday.  And for your information Adrian and I barely did anything, which you should have figured out already when I told you I hadn't slept with him."

            He's quiet for a moment before he speaks slowly.  "How come you didn't say anything?"

            "What do you mean?" I look at him warily.  "You mean about dating Adrian?"

            He shakes his head slowly.  "No, about how much it fucking hurts.  I didn't think you cared that much.  The first couple times Vicki called you didn't even flinch when you handed me the phone.  I figured you were cool with it."

            "What was I supposed to say Dom?  There were other people there.  Did you want me to say 'Gee Dom, that Tran bitch is on the phone for you and every time she calls I feel like she just tore my heart out with her fake nails and stabbed it with her three inch heels.  Could you stop fucking her now that we're officially not allowed to talk to each other because your dad caught us fooling around in your kitchen?'  I mean what the fuck Dom?" I shake my head in disbelief.

            Dom stood up and started to pace the room. "Don't fucking blame this all on me.  You should have said something.  I thought you didn't fucking care Letty and it scared the shit out of me.  You're just this kid and I feel like this fucking perv for wanting to be with you.  My dad practically threatens to throw me in jail himself if I touch you again and I don't care.  I was willing to risk everything to be with you and you didn't care if someone else wanted in my pants.  Shit Let, you get pissed if someone eats your fucking sandwich or uses your fucking pillow but you didn't care that some other girl was trying to suck my cock."  He stops and stares at me.  "So I tried to forget you.  All those girls were just- I was trying to forget 'cause it seemed like that's what you wanted and like you already had.  If I knew how much it hurt, I swear to god Letty, I wouldn't have done it.  I'm sorry Let." 

            I stare at him, not sure what I should do.  "Sorry for what?  Proving to your friends you can still snag the pretty girl? Got your self some fucking trophies now.  Bet it makes you feel real big inside huh?"

Dom shook his head and sat back down on the bed next to me.  "I don't feel to big right now.  Matter of fact I feel pretty fucking small around you.  Must be nice."

I laughed bitterly, running my hands thru my hair in frustration. "Yeah.  Well it's not."  I look at him and for once I can tell he really is fucking sorry.  He's actually scared that I might not want to be with him now.  For a moment I feel like I won.  He hurt me and now I hurt him.  I want him to suffer like how I did for the last two months.

"So what, are you going to break it off with me now?"  Dom asks, setting his jaw as if he was preparing for a blow.

I know what the smart thing to say would be.  If I was smart I'd say he broke it off the moment he let Vicki Tran suck his cock and that every girl since then was another nail in the fucking coffin of this aborted relationship.  But like I told Adrian, I'm not that fucking smart.  

Relenting I put my hand on his chin like my grandma would do to me when she was scolding me.  "If you let another fucking girl even touch you I swear to God Dom I'll leave tread marks on her face."

He nods solemnly. "I promise Letty, no one else but you mija."  He turns his head so my hand is cradling his cheek now, feeling the ruff fuzz of his stubble.  

I smile slightly and lean back against the headboard again, closing my eyes.  I feel him move so that he's sitting against the headboard too.  He pulls me into his lap and strokes my hair gently as I cry softly.  Without saying it, we both know I'm crying about the fact that he got with those girls.  Maybe I can forgive him, but now I have to forgive myself for taking him back.  

"I'm sorry Letty, I'm so sorry.  Please believe me.  I'll do anything.  I swear to God, I'll do anything you ask to make it up to you." Dom's voice is soft, his touch gentle as he rubs my back.   We sit like that for a few minutes until I finally calm down.

After a few more moments, I finally say something.  "Why do you always call me mija?  Why not something else?  It makes me feel like I'm some stupid little kid Dom." I feel him chuckle and despite myself my heart opens up to him a little more than it already has.

            "I like it, it fits you.  You're my girl Let, I don't mean it like you're young or nothing.  It fits cause you're… still this fresh, innocent, perfect… person who I need to protect.  It makes me feel strong," Dom explained, kissing my forehead.  "Okay?"

I look up at him, and nod slowly before breaking into a grin. 

"What?" he asks, defensively.

Smirking, I roll my eyes. "That was the sappiest load of crap ever to come out of your mouth."

"You ungrateful little _ninja!_ I bare my soul to you and you laugh at me!  Fine, you want to know the real reason, mija?   I know Spanish makes you hot. Admit it!"  Dom laughs, tickling me.  

Squirming, I squeal.  "Stop! Dominic! Stop!" I turn so that I'm facing him as he tortures me furiously.

"Sshhhh!  You're so loud!"  Dom puts his fingers on my lips, smiling.  His attack over, I still, but my breathing is still ragged.  

The mood changes and hypnotized by his dark eyes, I kiss his fingers. My tongue sneaks out and I lick them slowly, then suck them into my mouth, nibbling.  I smile when I feel him shiver.

He pulls me firmly onto him so I can feel how hard he's getting.  "_Mija__,"_ he groans and kisses me.  He's right, Spanish really does do it for me.  

We kiss for a few moments, letting things develop at their own pace.  I know the door's locked and for now, nothing beyond these walls can mess things up for us.  I also know that Dom isn't going to take things any further than I want them to, so I feel safe to explore his body and let him explore mine.  Biting my lip, I pull his under shirt out and up.  "Take it off," I whisper into his ear, my right hand trailing up and down over his abs. 

Dom smiles against my neck and kisses that spot on my neck that makes me moan and jump.  "Yes mija."  He pushes me back slightly so that I'm leaning against his knees instead of his chests.  He waits till he knows I'm watching, then slowly pulls the tank off and lets it drop on the side of the bed.  

"I want to touch you." I say shyly.  

Dom strokes my cheek, still all smiles.  "Anywhere mija."

I blush beet red, "Not there!  Just here." I lean forward and kiss his collar bone in the spot that corresponds with the one that he knows drives me crazy.  "And here," I say, kissing his breast bone.  I smile and look up at him as he groans again.  I can hear his breathing accelerate as my kisses slowly drop lower and lower.  As I lick his chest playfully, I see him ball his hands into his sheets at his sides.  I nibble on his belly button, feeling his abs contract under my touch. I laugh when sticking my tongue into his ombligo makes him jump. I straighten and start sucking on his earlobe. He's twitching under me, which makes me feel so powerful.  

"You're killing me mija."  Dom says softly.  

I smile and kiss him lightly, watching his hands clench and unclench.  "Don't you want to touch me too Papi?"  I whisper in his ear.

"Oh God," he groans, his voice raw.  "You have no fucking idea how badly I want to touch you Letty."  He lifts his hands from the bed and places them on my ass, massaging it firmly.

I cry out into his mouth, panting.  "Don't stop Dom." I grind into him, my whole body on fire.  "Please… I need you to touch me."  My nails dig into his back as I try to pull myself closer to him.  

He kisses me hard, taking control.  Moaning he asks, "Do you know what you do to me?" 

I smile wickedly and push down onto his hardness.  "I have an idea," and laugh when first his hands dig harder into me to make me stop moving, then he swats my ass just hard enough to sting.  "Life with you is war," I groan, shivering under his touch.

He stops for a moment, trying to catch his breath.  "We gotta slow down mija." He rolls me under him and kisses my forehead before moving once more so that he's lying on his back next to me.  He takes my hand and laces it thru his.  "I don't know how I'm going to keep my hands off you for the rest of the fucking year." 

I laugh softly, trying to catch my breath.  "No shit."  I steal a glance at him, only to find he's staring at me.  "What?"

"You kiss differently now.  More… authoritative."  His voice is steady, like he's trying net to get mad about the reason why my kisses changed.  "What, is he not a good kisser?"

"Dominic, don't- please," I plead with him.  "I don't want to get into this again.  Not now."

He nods.  "It's my own damn fault, I know."

He sounds so forlorn, I hear the words jump out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about it.  "I broke up with him Dom.  That's why I got here so early."

He smiles.  "Good."  

I turn to my side and look at him.  "If you fucking break my heart Dominic, I'll fucking kick your ass.  Adrian would never have hurt me, and I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I passed up being somebody's queen so I could be someone's bitch."  

            "I won't let that happen Letty, I swear."  Dom kissed my hand.  "I'll treat you like the prize you are."

            I blush a little.  We're pros at making each other miserable, but pretty new at making each other happy.  "So what, I'm a trophy or something?"

            "Yeah." He kisses me between each word.  "You're." "My." "Trophy."   He strokes my cheek again and smiles.  "The only trophy I'll ever need."

            "Mmmm. More kisses please."  I sigh, rolling toward him. 

            "If I give you any more kisses I'm going to explode sweetheart."  Dom shook his head, not letting me get any closer to him.  

            "Dominic, stop teasin." I frowned, my lip jutting out. 

            "I'm serious.  No monkey business." 

            "I thought all guys jumped at the chance." I sat up, looking at him in disbelief.  "I guess I'm not prime trim huh?"

            "Mija… You know that's not true.  We're just not ready."  Dom sat up, stroking my shoulder.  "I do want you. I want you so bad I can barely stand it.  But maybe my dad is right.  Maybe you're too young."    

            "But… can't we just… I mean I want to…"  I can't look at him right now.  "God this is so embarrassing." 

            "Don't be embarrassed. It should be me who's embarrassed.  I'm the one who can't trust myself to stop.  I just don't want to rush you."  He kissed my shoulder, then gave me a hug.  "Okay?"

            "This sucks Dom.  You got me all…" I look into his eyes and stop mid sentence.  

            "All what Letty?" 

            "Hot." I feel like I'm on fire right now, and he's barely touching me.  

            "I'm sorry." Dom gives me a half smile, and shrugs.  "My bad."

            "Ugh.. you're so… ugh!" I push him and get out of bed, needing some space.  

            "Leticia."  Dom sighs, rubbing his forehead.  

            "Don't call me that Dominic.  You know I hate that." I snap, padding the length of his room.  Downstairs I can hear the music still thumping.  I look at my watch.  It's only a little after 9.  "What are we supposed to do now then?  I can't go downstairs to the party 'cause Vince saw you bring me up here.  Should I just go chill with Mia, then go home?"  

            Dom shakes his head no.  "Just stay and talk with me.  Or if you went home once and changed, then we could hang downstairs.  If Vince thinks I already – sorry, but you know, tapped some, then he won't think twice about us just chilling downstairs."  

            I nod, but then catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on Dom's door.  "Shit, I can't go home looking like this Dom.  My abuela would tan my ass. I look like I just got out of your bed. Maybe I can borrow some of Mia's clothes.  You know she loves to dress me."  

            "And say what to her when you walk in her door?" Dom shakes his head again.  "Your grandmother would know what you were up to, but she wouldn't ask who you were up to it with.  You said Mia saw us at school right?  Wouldn't she want to know how your date went with the pa- your ex." Dom coughs.  "Sorry, force of habit. But you know she'll ask, especially if you're coming from my room and not from downstairs."

            "So I have to stay in this room with you till everyone leaves and not touch you?"  I ask, my eyes narrowing.  "Some fucking party."  

            "I'm the one with blue balls over here Let," Dom sighs.

            "That's your fault, not mine."  

            "Right.  Contrary to popular belief, I was not born with a hard on Letty.  You did this Mija, it was all you."  He gestures downwards at his still tented crotch.  

            "You're the one who let his conscious grow bigger than his cock Dom."  I'm totally unsympathetic. "We have one night together before 8 months of forced celibacy.  I was all for fooling around, but no, you had to go all boy scout." 

            "At least you don't know what you're missing mija."  Dom replied dryly.  

            "It's not my fault you're a slut." 

            "No, it's mine. I made the mistakes, and I'm paying for it.  But I'm serious Let, we're not fooling around anymore tonight.  I want to make sure I'm clean before we"

            "What do you mean make sure you're clean?" My head snapped to attention.  "You went bareback?  Dom that's fucking disgusting.  I don't want to hear about that."  

            "Will you just calm down for a second Let?  How'd you get so fucking crude?"  Dom practically shouted, making his words a little ironic.  Taking a deep breath, he continued.  "I always wore a condom, always.  But shit happens.  If it happened to me, then it's my fault, I'll deal with it.  But I'm sure as hell not going to get you sick because I was an ass.  It's the least I can do for you Letty.  So until I know I'm clean, I don't want to risk going so far I can't stop.  Understand?"  

            I nod, not knowing what to say. 

            "Good."  Dom crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you about that cause I didn't want you to think about why I needed to be tested."

            "You shoulda just said.  It would've been better than thinking I just… wasn't good or sexy enough for you."  

            "You know I think you're beautiful, right?  You're more important to me than anyone else has ever been." 

            I nod, blushing.  "So how long will it take you to find out?"  

            "Letty…" Dom warned.

            "What, I'm just asking.  I can't help it, I'm curious."

            "It doesn't matter.  We're going to wait till your birthday." Dom's voice is firm, final.  

            "This sucks Dom." 

            Laughing, Dom flashes me that smile of his.  "You already said that."

            "It doesn't make it any less true." Giving up on being mad , I crawl into bed with him and snuggle up to him.  "Now you have 3 hours left to convince me that I love you enough to go thru all this bull shit and spend the next 9 months taking cold showers Dominic. Start talking."  

                                                *          *          *          *          *          *  


	4. Down Low

**DL- On the Down Low**

Still Raunchy, Be Warned.  

Thanks for all the Reviews!  I'm trying something a little different here in an effort to help time flow- let me know how you like it.

I fell in love with Dominic that night.  I remember lying next to him, cradled in his arms, my head on his chest.  I can still feel his heart beating under my cheek, feel the heat emanate off him.  I tried to let the warmth he could offer me be enough, to keep me warm thru that night, but it wasn't.  I remember thinking, don't say anything Let, you don't want to ruin this.  It's enough.  I just wanted to stare at his body forever, watch his chest rise and fall.  

            I would have suffered the cold willingly, but Dom had other ideas.  Noticing my goose bumps, he pulled a blanket over us and rubbed my arms to warm me up.  Shaking his head, he told me that I should have told him I was cold.  "Let me take care of you mija.  I wanna take care of you, if you let me.  I wanna be the one you come to for help.  Ain't no problem we can't solve, the two of us."  In that instant, Dom showed me what it was like to be cherished, valued, and respected. 

You know that inspirational poster you see in bookstores, the one about the footprints?  Well I've never been a religious person, but that poster reminds me of my life with Dom.  When things were good we walked side by side, making our mark in the world.  When things were bad the rest of the world would see one pair of footprints, but Dom and me, deep down, we knew.  Even when the shit we went thru was our own damn faults, we knew. Maybe Dom would fuck up, or maybe I would, it didn't matter. Despite everything, no matter what happened, when I closed my eyes and saw those footprints, I knew it would be okay.  You see, when the shit hit the fan, we only needed one pair of footprints because our love carried us thru it.  _Para__ Siempre._

                                                            ~Flash back~

It was quiet now.  The music and the guests had faded away without our noticing. Watching our fingers play together slowly, I asked him if he was sad that he missed the party. 

            Kissing my hand, he shook his head.  "Naw, that wasn't a party worth missing.  We weren't there."  

            I smiled at first, but I wasn't convinced.  "You know I can't go right?  To all those parties you and Vince go to all the time?  I gotta stay at home and take care of my grandma, and I got school and stuff."

            "Yeah, so?"  Dom rubbed our hands against his face.  "That doesn't matter."

            "You mean that doesn't matter I'll go with out you, or that doesn't matter, I'm not going either?"  I closed my eyes, trying to prepare myself for his answer.

            "That doesn't matter cause it's not a party unless you and I are there together.  I'm still gonna go out, I'm not gonna lie about that.  But whatever.  It's you and me now."  Dom kissed my forehead and tucked me under his chin.  

            "But tomorrow-" I started, trying to keep the whine out of my voice.

            "What about it?"  Dom sighed and put his hand on my stomach.

            "Your dad said-"  

            "I know what he said Letty."  Dom interrupted, his voice gruff.

            "So it's not really me and you against the world Dom. It's you against me till the world says it's okay."  

            "Since when did you give up so easy?" Dom asked dryly. 

            "You sound like Mia." I said softly, my eyes still closed as I enjoyed the feeling of Dom's hand stroking my belly.

            "What are you going to do tomorrow Let?  Walk out that door and stop caring? You're planning on giving up already?"  I felt Dom's hand on my chin, his fingers firm.   "Look at me."

            I opened my eyes slowly and searched his face.  "I don't know what I'm going to do.  I don't know what I'm supposed to do.  I didn't know that this was what I wanted until that night Dom.  I'm still trying to get used to it."

            "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Dom sat up and looked at me with distaste.  "Either you want to be with me or you don't.  I don't have time for this shit Letty."

            "Dominic… don't be that way."  I sat up and reached for him, stroking his back, kissing his shoulder. "I do want to be with you, I do.  But I don't want you to get in trouble over this.  You saw how your father looked at us.  I mean, is it really worth it? He's practically all you have left Dom."

            "Yeah, well I thought I had you now, but I guess I was wrong."  Dom jerked out of my arms, reached for his wife-beater and put it on.  "Straighten up, I'll take you home."

            "You're not serious."  I crossed my arms and looked at him disbelieving.  

            "Now Letty," he growled, putting his belt on.  

            "No.  Fuck Dom, stop treating me like a child."

            "Then stop acting like one."

            "I was just being honest. This is new territory for me Dominic, I'm sorry if I don't have all the answers yet."

            "I didn't realize there were any questions left.  You and me. That's it. It's simple. Either we're together or we're not."  Dom leaned against his dresser and looked at me.  "So for the last time mija, what's it going to be?"

            "I want to be with you Dominic, you know that.  I just told you that I wanted to be with you."  I ran my hands thru my hair, frustrated as all hell.

            "That's not good enough. You're either with me or your not.  None of this 'wannabe' crap."  

            "Fine, I'm with you then.  Whatever the hell that's going to mean since if your father so much as catches me talking to you he'll tan both our asses."  I flopped back and stared at the ceiling.  "I'd really prefer at this point to have only your hands on me Dom.  I may be too young for you, but I'm sure as hell too old to get spanked."

            Suddenly the bed squeaks as Dom jumps on top of me, grinning.  "Well then we can't let him catch us together, can we?"  He smoothed my hair back and kissed me softly before leaning over and nibbling on my ear.  "And for the record, you'll never be too old for a spanking."

            I couldn't help but gasp and arch slightly against him at that.  "_Dom…"_ I pled without knowing exactly what for.  

            "Ah ah ah."  Dom teased, using one hand to pin my hand above my head when I reached for him.  "You know the rules.  Hell you wanted to obey the rules." Dom's hot breath tickled my neck.  

            "Fuck the rules, they don't apply tonight," I leaned forward awkwardly, straining to kiss him.  "Please Dom, you're driving me crazy.  It'll be our secret." When he didn't let me kiss him I settled for nuzzling his neck and whispering in his ear.  "Yo quiero."

            "Not tonight mija.  You can wait two weeks can't you?  Till I'm sure you'll be okay?"  Dom shifted to his side and ran his free hand up and down my body slowly. 

            "You're such a tease Dom."  I pouted, turning from him.  "You basically make me tell you I want you just so you can tell me that I can't have you."  

            "Admit it, you love it. All this fighting and shit turns you on."  

            "Then why do you gotta fight with me all the time if you know you're not going to give me any?"  I growled.  "That's like cruel and unusual treatment and shit.  All talking and no touching, is this the fucking champagne room or something? Tu chupas."  

            Laughing, Dom grabbed me and pulled me against him.  "What are you going to do, go file a report with the cops and say the boyfriend you're not legally allowed to have won't molest you?"  

            "Shut up you shit,"  I grumble.  "I hate you."

            "No you don't."  Dom nuzzled into my neck, his hands once again rubbing the flat plane of my stomach.  "You love me."

            Feeling like a damn trick birthday cake candle, I put my hands over his trying to still him.  "Don't start something you're not going to finish for me Dominic." 

            Totally ignoring me, Dom ran his fingers in a slow haphazard circle, first up, then down the length of my torso.  "What do you think I'm starting?"  

            I shifted in his arms, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.  "I'm serious Dom," I panted as his one of his hands started to stroke my thigh, teasing at the hem of my dress. When his left hand slowly started to slip into the top of my dress, I felt my temperature soar. "You just said we couldn't."  

Dom's breathing was annoyingly steady as he spoke softly, "Couldn't what mija? Say it."

Now it was my turn to ball my hands in the sheets and groan.  "Fuck- Dom- I…" I bucked as his hand crept up between my thighs.  "Don't tease," my voice reeked of desperation now.  I tried to shut my legs, but his fingers still found their way up to me.  Weakly I tried to stop his roaming hands, but between these two new sensations my fucking motor skills were shot to hell.  "You said we couldn't do _this._"

"Now I know my exact words weren't that we couldn't fuck mija, but you're right, you don't get to touch me tonight.  You make me loose control way too easily." Dom's chest rumbled against my back as he spoke, making me shudder.  "But maybe you were on to something."

"Que?" 

"You don't have to be touching me for me to be touching you.  Do you like that idea, mija?  Do you want me to keep touching you like this?"  Dom's breath was hot and damp- just like I was.

"Si, pero… pero…." Trying to focus on what he was saying, I struggled to form the words in English, but failed. "y tu?"

"No importa.  Let me give you pleasure mija.  I will, if you tell me that's what you want."

I moaned and nodded, my motions a little wild.  

"Shhh, mija, you have to be quiet."  Dom took his left hand from my tetas and carefully covered my mouth.    The fingers on his right hand rubbed me thru a thin layer of cotton.  "Can you do that?"

I nodded jerkily again, biting the fleshy bit of his palm reflexively as Dom's fingers worked their magic on me. I would have promised him anything at that moment.  

"Good."  Dom kissed my neck slowly, torturing me with his tongue. He started to move his hand back down, but unfortunately he also used his thumb to add another dimension of pleasure to my now very wet self.  

I don't know how loud I was, but I must have been pretty damn loud because Dom practically slammed his hand back over my mouth.  I didn't care if anyone heard, I was out of my mind with need. I sucked hard on his skin and clamped down on the heel of his palm.  

"You're a fucking wild cat aren't you mija?  God, how loud are you gonna be when I'm inside you?" Dom's words made me quiver, but not blush.  I was so far passed blushing right now that I bet Rudolph would have been out of a job.  "We're going to have to be very careful for the next few months, aren't we? The next time I stroke you, we'll have to be some place where no one can hear you scream my name."

Whimpering, suddenly I began to convulse.  I'd only felt this way once before, but already I knew what it was.  Even as I felt myself tense up, something inside me burst.  I couldn't think, couldn't breath, but nothing mattered right now except that Dom not stop. I cried out helplessly into his hand, shaking.  

I slowly became aware that Dom was whispering to me softly.   "That's it Letty, that's it. There you go.  Feel better?  Hmm? Still hate me?"

I shook my head, feeling a little bashful all of a sudden.  "No."  

"No you don't feel better or no you don't hate me?"

"No I don't hate you Dom.  I wish I could feel like this forever."  I snuggled in trying to get closer to him.   

"Good.  It's killing me, but good."  Dom shifted away from me slightly.  "You're so fucking hot when you go wild like that mija, I almost forgot about being a man about this."  He placed his hands firmly on my hips and held me away from him.  "I can see it now, cause of death: pelotas michinados."

I laughed sleepily.  "I'm sorry Dom.  I didn't mean to make you suffer."

"Liar.  You love that you got off and I'm stuck here with your ass in my crotch, taunting me,"  Dom growled.  

Yawning, I smiled.  "Yeah, well remember, you already said it was your fault.  God, I don't want to move.  How am I going to get home?" 

"Just stay with me tonight.  Tell your mom or your grandma or whoever that you were with Mia," Dom suggested.

"Do you want me to stay?"  This is so surreal, I thought to myself.  This afternoon I'm going out with Adrian, and now… Dom is asking me to sleep over.  With him.  And not have sex.  Un-fucking-believable. 

"Of course.  Even Big Dom wants you to stay."  

I had to laugh- "Big Dom?  Kinda cocky, don't you think?"

Taking my hand and putting it on his still hard shaft, Dom laughed.  "That's the fucking point.  No way I'm gonna call my guy 'little dom' when aint nothing little about him."  

When Dom let go of my hand I pulled it back to my chest as if I'd been burnt.  "Holly fuck Dom, forget everything I've said- I don't want that thing near me.  Jesus, I could grow a foot taller and still not be able to handle that thing."

"_Now_ do you see why I didn't want to loose control?"  Dom kissed my head and laced his fingers thru mine once again.  

"No shit."  I shook my head and sighed.  "What the hell am I getting myself into?" 

"Aww Let, don't worry.  I promise I won't really break you.  Don't go from begging for it to preaching against it on me now."

"I'll try not to," I said dryly. Thinking of how uncomfortable he must be right now, I put a little more space between us.  I turned to look at him, to really look at him.  "Thank you for… you know.  I uh, I liked it."  I stared at his navel while I talked, oddly fascinated by the hair surrounding it.  I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I knew Dom was hanging on by a very thin thread, so I restrained myself.  "It means a lot to me that you want to make sure it's safe for me."  Raising my eyes to his, I tried to act more mature than I normally feel around Dom.  "It's also pretty damn cool of you to you know, uh, help me out, when you're still, ah, you know."  

Giving me a half hearted Godfather impression, Dom nodded solemnly. "I do this favor for you now willingly.  But there may come a time when I need a favor."  

            "Anything for you Papi, you just name the time and the place." 

            Grinning, Dom hopped out of bed and grabbed the calendar off the wall then bounded back to bed.  "Good, 'cause I was thinking Dad has a race coming up in two weeks.  If I go to the clinic tomorrow, I bet I'll have heard back about the health of Big Dom by then so I can introduce the two of you. Shit, that's not going to work is it?"  Dom frowned, tapping his finger on the date. 

            Laughing I pushed him gently, somehow finding the situation comical.  "What?  What do you mean?"  Yeah he looked disappointed, but I had no idea why.  

            "You're going to be on the rag then.  I guess it doesn't matter since we can't have sex till your birthday, but the option of tasting you would have been nice."  Dom rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip and smiled.

            "You have no shame, do you?  And how the hell do you know what my cycle is when I don't even know what my cycle is?"  I arched an eyebrow and tried to sneer even though I still found all of this fucking hilarious.  

            "You and Mia are, what's the word- in sync.  I'm the designated supply purchaser of this household, trust me, I try to stay on top of keeping the house well stocked with both the goods and the goodies so that you ladies don't go postal.  My dad used to make sure there was plenty of chocolate and chips in the house for my mom before she died.  I guess I inherited the job."  Dom put the calendar aside and put his head on my stomach.  "I guess we'll have to just play it by ear."

            "We're still gonna play?  After tonight?"  I tried to keep my voice neutral since I didn't really know what he was thinking.

            Dom placed a small kiss on my stomach then looked up at me, his chin resting on my ribs.  "I'd like to, that is if you don't mind sneaking around for a little while."

            "So basically we don't tell Mia, we don't tell Vince, and we make like we're still fucked up in front of your dad. But I don't date Adrian and you don't date… the cheerleading squad."  I arch my eyebrow and stroke his hair.  "And then when no one's looking we sneak out somewhere and you torture me like you just did but we don't get to have sex for 8 or 9 months. Is that how this is gonna work?"

            Damn Torretto and that shit-eater grin.  "Hell yeah. Except it's 8 months, 1 week and 3 days and after me and Big Dom get the official green light maybe I'll teach you how to drive.  Just cause you don't get to race the quarter mile yet doesn't mean you have to stand on the sidelines and wave the flag mija.  Of course, if you want to wave the flag, I bet we can find you a nice little outfit."  

            I smashed him upside the head with a pillow.  "Perv."

            Dodging my next two swats, Dom got out of bed and put the calendar back.  He scratched his arm and stretched, yawning.  "How quickly you forget that it was you begging for it just now.  But sheeyt, can't blame you for not remembering since you couldn't even talk right."  He looked down at his hands and wiggled his fingers.  "I wonder if I should get these bad boys insured.  How much do you think skilled instruments of pleasure are worth these days?"

            I rolled my eyes and threw the pillow at his head.  "How do you know you're so damn good Dom?  Maybe I'm just… excitable."

            Dom's laugh rumbled deep in his chest.  "If it was just you then you woulda slept with Adrian.  If it was just you then you woulda stuck it out with that scrawny ass boy cause he woulda been able to make you fly off the hook like I just did.  Nah mija, it's only my touch that can light you up like that.  And it's only you that can make me swear off- what did you call them? The 'squad'?  If any of those hos could do for me what you do, I wouldn't do the one thing that my father has told me not to in the last five years. What we got is special mija." 

            I sat on the bed staring at him, trying to fight the lump in my throat.  "I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or flattered Dom."  

            Dom took his belt back off and dropped his jeans so he was just in his tank and boxers.  He threw his jeans in his hamper and put the belt in one of his drawers. Grabbing a football jersey from another drawer, he walked back to the bed and handed it to me.  "Nothing to be flattered about mija, it's just the truth.  You and me, we're like… nos and street racing.  We go together real damn good, but we gotta be careful cause we're a dangerous combination."  He kissed my forehead and motioned me to the bathroom.  "Go change and brush your teeth and shit.  I'll go in after."  

            I shook my head and stood up, heading toward the door.  As I started to turn the handle, I looked back at him.  "You do realize that if you keep this shit up, there's no way in hell I'm going to let you wait till my birthday, right?  Roses are nice, but that shop talk is like fucking poetry."  

            Dom laughed and nodded his head like he was a rap star.  "Why do you think I let you go to dinner with the little novio?  He may be a fucking honor student, but he drove a fucking Camry and brought you flowers.  Busta didn't stand a chance."  

            "Next time I wanna make you jealous, I'll start hitting on Vince then."  I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time and headed down the hallway, jersey in hand.

            "Not funny Let!" Dom called out a little louder than he should have.  I guess I hit a nerve.  Nice.

            I went into the bathroom and changed quickly.  Amazingly, even though Dom and I spent like four times as long fooling around tonight compared to the last time, I didn't have any hickies that I'd have to explain to Mia.  I was surprised she didn't notice them the last time.  I started brushing my teeth and flipped the mirror open to look for a brush. When I put the mirror back I looked up to see Mia standing in the doorway and jumped a foot off the ground.  "Holly shit Mi!  What the hell!?!"  

            Crossing her arms, Mi gave me a look that basically said that I should cut the bull shit.  "So nothing's going on between you and Dom, huh?"   

            I took a second to spit and rinse before answering.  "Mia…"

            "Don't Mia me.  Tell me the truth, are you fucking my brother or not?"  

            "I ah… I'm not.  And I can honestly say that I don't plan to any time in the near future."  Hey, it was technically the truth.  

            Hands on her hips, she tapped her well manicured fingers slowly.  "Is that why you came out of his room after midnight?  Why he disappeared from the party right after I saw Adrian's car drive off?"  Her expression softened as she watched me fidget under her suspicious gaze.  "Is that why I had to tell your mother that you'd already fallen asleep here but that I'd send you home first thing in the morning when she called half an hour ago wondering where the hell you were?"  

            If I didn't know Mia better, I would have taken the fact that she sounded chill with the fact that she had been forced to cover my ass as a sign that she really was chill with it.  Unfortunately, it meant the opposite.  "Uh, Mia… it's not like that, I swear.  I really appreciate you taking care of my mom for me, but I promise you it didn't go down like you seem to think."  

            "No?  Then go ahead chica, explain it to me." 

            I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  Shit. Anyone else in the world and I would have been able to come up with some bull shit, but this was Mia.  Thankfully I didn't have to say anything because Dom chose that moment to walk into our little pow-wow.

            "She wasn't feeling to hot tonight Mi, that's all.  She broke up with Adrian tonight."  Dom shouldered his way into the bathroom.  He didn't look at either of us as he turned the water on and washed his face.  He ran his toothbrush under the tap then turned it off.  "Since I was already pretty fucked up by the time she got here, I thought it would be a good idea to just chill with her for a while instead of getting so wasted I ended up puking on the couch again."  He glanced up at Mia and then started to brush his teeth.  "Sorry to let you down Mi.  Maybe Pops will marry Letty's mom and that way you two really can be sisters," he said with his mouth full.  

            "You broke up with Adrian?  Why?"  Mia leaned in and gave me a hug, her suspicions forgotten for the moment.  

            "I don't know, it just didn't feel right.  I mean he's nice and all, it's just, I don't have time for him to be my Romeo right now.  You know I got shit I need to deal with."  I hugged her and mouthed the words  'thank you' to Dom behind her back.  

            Dom winked and spit into the sink.  He took a swig of water, spit again, then sat on the bathroom counter.  "So you're not mad I'm not banging Letty are you Mia?  Cause you know, I could.  For your sake. What do you say Leticia, you up for it?"  Dom gave me an exaggerated leer and made like he was checking me out.  

            "Shut up Dom, you're so immature."  Mia pushed her brother and gave my hand a squeeze.  "Letty's not one of your racer chicks who's just gonna give it up for you.  If a class act like Adrian can't make the cut, there's no way you can.  Come on chika, let's go to my room.  I don't know if I feel worse for you cause it didn't work out with Suarez or cause you had to spend the evening with Dom."  

            I forced a laugh and waved at Dom.  "See ya," I said softly in a sing-song voice. I followed Mia back in to her room and got her sleeping bag out from the closet and set it up on the ground next to her bed.  When she tossed me "my" pillow, I couldn't help but think that it was the wrong Torretto doing the throwing right now.  Shaking my head, I tried to prep myself for Mia's questions.

            "Sorry I accused you of sleeping with him Letty," Mia said after we'd crawled under the covers and turned out the lights.  "I guess after watching you and Dom at graduation I just thought, you know, maybe there was something between the two of you.  You would make a cute couple."

            I didn't think I could pull off another fake laugh, so I didn't answer right away.  Even though Dom had gone thru the trouble of lying to Mia to protect us, she was still my best friend and I wanted to tell her as much of the truth as I could.   "When I broke up with Adrian earlier, he asked if I had a thing for Dom.  I didn't know what to tell him."

            "Do you?"  Unlike while we were in the bathroom, Mia's voice was devoid of judgment. 

            I kept my voice low, paranoid that Dom could hear us.  "If you had asked me before, I would have said no way.  But even though it's stupid, and I know that Dom could hurt me so easily, I've started to wonder what it would be like to be his girl.  I didn't go out with Adrian tonight thinking I was going to break up with him.  I mean we even, you know, made out a little and stuff tonight.  But he said something tonight that freaked me out."   

            Mia rolled over so that her head was hanging over the edge of the bed so she could see me. "What did he say?"  

            "We were talking about sex and he-"

            "He asked if you'd done it with Dom?!"  Mia squealed in disbelief.

            I burst out laughing because THAT would have been funny.  "Oh hell no.  I asked if he'd been with anyone, and he said no.  Then I asked if it would bother him if I had been with anyone and he basically said that as long as it wasn't Dom, it probably wouldn't bother him."  

            "Why just Dom?" Mia asked, puzzled. 

            "He said it would be too hard to live up to the Torretto 'legend.'  Something about not wanting to be compared to Dom all the time.  That's what freaked me out."  I sighed and thanked God it was dark because I was pretty sure I was beet red.

            "Why?" 

            "Because Mia, I was always comparing Adrian to Dom.  Like how the acted, or dressed, or how good they were with car stuff.  When Adrian would take me someplace, I would wonder if Dom had taken one of his girlfriends there." Even though I was embarrassed as all hell, I forced the words out as if I was in confession.  "If Adrian said he was tired cause he had worked late for his dad the night before, I thought of Dom working for Tony.  It was like I was always checking to see if Adrian measured up to Dom."  

            "So are you saying you really do have a thing for him?"  Mia spoke slowly, enunciating her words carefully like she was trying to figure something out.

            "Would it freak you out if I did?" 

            "Not really.  I mean, it would be cool if you two did get together, at least at first.  But Letty, I mean, he's my brother and I love him, but he's… he'd end up hurting you.  You know that right?" 

            I closed my eyes, trying to block out the fact that every single person who knew or suspected that Dom and I were hooking up had basically echoed that very thought.  First Tony, then Adrian, and now Mia.  Considering that two out of three of them were family, it didn't really speak well of Dom as boyfriend material.  "I… I wouldn't get together with him if I thought he'd hurt me Mia." 

            "For what it's worth, I think you'd make a cute couple," Mia joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

            "I'll keep that in mind. But hey, you know this means Adrian is single now right?"  

            Mia squealed in fake indignation. "Letty!  That's nasty!  I don't care how close we are, we're not playing musical make out partners."

            "Hey, I was just making a suggestion.  He's not that bad a kisser you know. I know you think he's hot Mia."  I couldn't help but tease her.  "Think about it.  You both like to cook and-"

            Throwing another pillow at my head, Mia interrupted me.  "Oh just shut up and go to bed already." 

                                                            End Part 4


	5. Burn

Don't own them, don't sue. D/L- R for language. Not too smutty, but still melodramatic.

Meant to move things along a little faster than I did, but giving the girl some soul took some time. If you have the urge to read more, let me know- I'm cheap- a few words of encouragement is all that it takes. Drop a line yo.

Making A Mess of Things- Chapter Five: Burn.

Things at the garage were really busy for the next ten days. Tony had that big race coming up in Vegas, so Dom and Vince were working double shifts to keep up with the day to day shit at the garage while Tony concentrated on getting his car ready. We barely saw each other, and though we talked a little, we didn't share anything more than a quick kiss here and there.

Despite not really having time for each other, I really enjoyed the routine that we had fallen into. No more sluts meant no more fights, which in and of it self was great. Plus, since the guys were always at the garage, Mia and I had time to catch up. The extra money I was bringing in also meant that mom got to cut back some on her hours. I was in such a good mood since graduation that I'd been helping out more around my own house too, which psyched mi abuela and madre. It was weird, but the only stress that I had to deal with these days was Tony, who was watching us like a hawk. 

The last morning before Tony took off for Vegas started off like how every other day since graduation had. When I walked into the Torretto's kitchen to get some breakfast before work, Tony was sitting at the table. Looking up from his newspaper, Tony smiled and raised his cup of coffee in salutation. 

"Hey Uncle T," I said, continuing on to the fridge. "How you livin?" I like raiding the Torretto's kitchen in the mornings because they had white-people breakfast food. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff my grandmother cooks. The thing is, we don't work in the fields no more- I'm afraid that if I eat too much of it, I'll end up looking like my fat ass New Yorkican cousins. I loved them and all, and yeah, they did still look good, but they had a little more bounce to the ounce going on than I could pull off. I figure a bowl of Special K will compensate for the pastilles I was planning on having for lunch. 

"Not bad. You better get a move on. Dom's leaving for the garage in about 10 minutes. I want you to help him with that custom paint job on Jorge's Mustang. You know how impatient he gets with that sort of thing."

Shoveling the cereal into my mouth, I nod. After chewing as quickly as possible, I leaned forward and asked Tony to clarify what he'd just said. "But I thought, you know. What you said the other day. Wasn't that like a ground rule or something?" 

"I know what I said, but desperate times call for desperate measures." He scratches his head distractedly and looks at me with this slightly accusatory look on his face. "You can handle it, right?"

I gulp and nod quickly. "Yeah. No problem." 

He gives me a dry look. "I heard you broke up with Adrian." 

"Uh… yeah." I blush. "After graduation." 

Sighing, Tony closed his newspaper and rubbed his head once again. "Letty…"

"What?" I try to look innocent. "What?"

Thankfully, Mia walked in, saving me from a lecture. "Hey Letty," she yawned as she walked passed me and on to the fridge. "Wait- what?" 

I could hear Mia pivot and from the corner of my eye I saw her kneel down and look at me intently. "What?" I started to blush. Oh shit. So busted. 

"You're wearing makeup." Mia arched an eyebrow at me. 

I opened my mouth to protest, but looking from father to daughter and back again, I snapped my jaw shut. Mia was amused. Tony was anything but amused. "It's not a big deal." 

Walking in to the kitchen, Dom sat up on the counter and grabbed an apple. "What's not a big deal?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up, taking my bowl to the sink. "Nothing. Just forget it, let's go." Waving goodbye, I walked out of the kitchen, letting the door slam behind me.

I waited for Dom to unlock his car, then got in, and stared out the window. 

Starting the car, Dom glanced over at me. "So you wanna tell me what that was all about? Seemed like you were in a rush to get out of there." 

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it." I pull my knees up and tuck my head down. 

"Are you sure?" Dom's voice was gentle and his concern genuine. "It doesn't sound like nothing."

"I said I don't want to talk about it." 

"Damn, chill out already. Jesus, you don't have to bite my head off just because you're feeling bloated." 

Oh. No. He. Didn't. "Fuck you Dominic." I tossed my head back and ran my hand thru my hair angrily. 

Snorting, Dom fiddled with the radio while we waited at a red light. "Not now, and if you keep that attitude up, not ever." 

"Great. That's just fucking great. Green light asshole, lets get a move on. The sooner we paint this damn car, the sooner we can get back to ignoring each other." I leaned forward and turned the volume up nice and loud so I wouldn't have to talk to him.

Dom gunned the engine and sped down the street. The normally 20 minute drive was cut down to seven minutes. He pulled up into the driveway and cut the engine, locking the doors at the same time. "Tell me what the problem is."

"I already told you I don't want to talk about it. God are you deaf?" I turn away from him, trying to unlock the door and get out of the car.

Dom grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Sit. Tell me." 

"No." I wrenched my arm away from him and bolt out of the car.

"Letty! What the fuck?!" Dom slammed out of the car and followed me.

Fumbling with the key, I tried to unlock the door to the garage. I'm so irrationally angry right now- and the worst part is that I know I'm acting like a psycho. The door finally swings open and I stalk into the garage, fighting back tears. I walk passed the cars and straight into the office. Throwing open the door, I can't fight the tears anymore. I collapse on the couch and start sobbing, my body shaking. 

Sitting down next to me, Dom leaned forward and pulled me into his lap. "Baby, what's wrong?" 

"Your dad hates me." My chest was heaving, the words barely audible. 

"He doesn't hate you, I promise, he doesn't. He cares about you. He just wants to make sure you're safe." Dom strokes my hair, soothing me.

"He was about to bitch me out this morning Dom, but then Mia walked in. And she noticed I was wearing make up and he got all pissed at me." 

"Awww, mija. Please, please stop crying." 

"I hate this Dom. I don't want him to be mad at me, but I can't give you up. I never asked to feel like this, but I do. I hate lying to him, I hate lying to Mia. Can't we just tell them?" 

Dom rubs my shoulders and my neck, trying to release my tension. "He doesn't want to know Mia. He's worried about us. This is new territory for both of us. And it wouldn't be fair to Mia either. If we told her but not my dad- you know she can't keep secrets from him." 

Slowly I get my shit together and compose myself. "I'm sorry," I say, toying with his coveralls. "I know that was totally basic. I just- this is so stressful." I sigh, resting my head against his chest. 

Dom's chest rumbled as he chuckled. "It's okay. I blame the crimson tide anyways." 

I swat at him playfully. "You're a prick, you know that? What, you wish I was so young I didn't get it?"

"Hey! I'm not THAT big a perv." Dom laughed as he stood up, lifting me into the air and then dropping me onto the couch with a loud thud.

"Ouch! That hurt!" I think my outrage would have been more convincing if I didn't have a huge grin on my face. 

Dom snickered and stuck his tongue out at me, but offered me a hand. "There you go again, making drama." 

"Watch your mouth old man, or else I might make you paint the mustang by yourself." I swatted his hand away and got up off the couch by myself. 

"Right, Jorge's going to love that. You know I can't handle that fru fru stuff." Dom put his hands on my hips and walked us out of the office and back into the garage. 

Once we could walk side by side I took his hand in mine as we made our way to the Mustang. "Painting a car is not fru fru." I checked the clock and realized we had to get started pronto. Giving him a quick kiss, I walked over to my locker to get my shitty cover alls and put them on.

"It is compared to rebuilding an engine." Dom flipped on the lights and started to gather all the shit we'd need to make Jorge's p.o.s. look respectable. 

I had to laugh as I shimmied into my clothes. "Are you for real? All the great painters in history were men. Monet, Picasso, Michelangelo…" My voice trailed off as I tried to force my zipper up. I swear, it was obvious that I'd inherited it from Dom, because the zipper was always causing me grief. Stubborn bastards, the both of them.

Walking up to his locker, Dom gave me a playful push. "If you're about to name all the Ninja Turtles, don't think I'm going to be impressed. I thought you actually learned something in art theory class this semester." Grabbing his goggles and a face mask, he leaned forward and helped me jiggle the zipper. 

I shook my head and laughed. "It's not my fault I got an A. That shit just came naturally to me. Believe me, I spent a hell of a lot more time on my English Comp homework and still got a shitty grade." 

Kissing my nose, Dom smiled. "My girl's hella smart, no matter what that Ivy League prick of a teacher you had said. Besides, I doubt that limp dick could draw half as well as you can. And when we're running the garage, it's not like we're going to need someone to write sonnets about our work. I'd much rather have an artist-in-residence than a poet-laureate."

Blushing, I wrapped my arms around Dom's neck and gave him a slow, wet, gentle kiss. Pulling away before things got too heated, I stroked his face. "You think?" 

Dom swallowed and nodded. His eyes searched mine, his concern obvious. "You know you're… amazing, right? I know I give you shit, but sometimes… sometimes I wonder why you're with me when you could be with college boy. You could go away to the same school, get married, and have little nerdy artistic kids who lettered in four sports, graduate with honors, and paint murals for community service in their spare time." Dom closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. "If… if that's what you want then…"

I gave him a big hug, trying to squeeze the insecurity out of him. "Right, and then I'd bring my Volvo station wagon in for servicing and bitch about how I chipped a nail playing tennis at the club and how lazy the illegals who work for me and my doctor husband are." I laughed, shaking my head. "Can you imagine me even owning a tennis skirt?"

"I can imagine you wearing one," Dom said with a hint of mischief. 

"Right... That's not going to happen. For one, you know my mom and I have a hard enough time making the mortgage every month, forget college. And I'm happy right here with you and Tony and Mia. I don't need to go college to work on cars." I rubbed his back slowly, enjoying our rituals as I tried to comfort him.

Dom seemed to relax a little, but he still wasn't satisfied. "But what about your art? Don't you want to study that some more?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dom, did you hear what you just said? Study? Me want to study? Come on now. Art's only fun because I don't _have _to work hard at it. Besides, who told you I even like art?" 

Looking bashful, Dom rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "I, uh, I was- now don't get mad Letty, this was way before we ever hooked up- but I was in the art room and I saw some of your work. That drawing you did of your dad, the charcoal one- I liked it. I asked Mia about it once, and she said you were really good. Like they offered you a partial scholarship to the Art Academy." 

I arched my eyebrow and looked at him. "Why would I get mad that you were in the art room?" 

"Letty, baby, it's not a big deal, don't worry about it." Dom's stammered, pretty much giving away the reason he was in there. "Besides, I ah, couldn't, you know, with your dad watching."

"Mmmhm. Remember Dom, tread marks. Think of it as artistic expression." I ran my nails lightly down his neck. "And not a word about the scholarship offer to my mother. You know she'd work herself into an early grave trying to afford it, which we can't." 

Shivering, Dom swallowed again, though I could feel that it was for a different reason. "No one else Letty. I swear to God, there's no one else." Dom leaned down to kiss me. His mouth was hungry- both for solace- and for sex. 

Unfortunately for him, I was irritated by the fact that the only reason he knew one of my secrets was because he'd been thinking with his dick. I kept the kiss light, not letting him draw me into the haze. "Come on, we gotta get started." I pushed him away and turned toward the Mustang. 

The day flew by pretty quickly. It didn't take long to prep and put the first coat on the Mustang, but replacing the transmission on the Jetta some kid had brought in was a pain in the ass. By the end of the day I was so beat that I fell asleep in the car on the way home. When Dom dropped me off at the casa I could barely stumble up the front steps and into the kitchen. The only thing that got me in there was the smell of my grandmother's cooking. Goddamn I wish I had her skills. 

Collapsing at the table, I took my hair down and started to unlace my boots. "Hey grams, smells good. What's for dinner?"

My abuela turned the heat down on the stove and then turned to look at me. Grams is great, but I could tell she was less than thrilled with my appearance. Clicking her tongue sharply, she started in on what I like to call the speech. En espanol of course. "_You don't get a thing until you take a shower young lady. I worry about you, getting all greasy all the time. If it weren't for Mia, I'd have your mother put you in Our Lady of Mercy to make sure you learned how to be a good girl_."

"Grams… please, don't start." I tugged my boots off and placed them by the door. "I had a long day. Tio had me pant some car and then Dom needed help with something." I shrug and give her a half-hearted smile. "Hey, at least I'm spending more time with the Torretto's. Isn't that what you wanted?" I nudge her aside and start to wash my hands and face in the kitchen sink. 

"_Dios__ Mio! Wrong one! When are you going to learn to be a lady like Mia?" _Abuela shakes her spoon at me and switches to English. "How is it that the girl with no mother grows into a woman and the girl with no father-"

Before I can stop myself I snap, interrupting her. "I have a father." My voice is cold and hard, frozen- just like my body.

"_Mira_- I didn't mean it like that, you know that." She puts the spoon down and tries to comfort me, but I won't have it. 

"Don't say shit like that." I push her hand away from me and walk upstairs, ignoring her as she calls out my name. I walk into my room and slam the door behind me. I grab my Discman and a pair of shades, turn the volume up high and hit play. I rip my jeans off and pull on a pair of soccer shorts that Adrian had bought for me before we broke up. After putting on a fresh pair of socks, I lace up my running shoes and open the window. I climb out onto the fire escape and kick the ladder and climb down. I pull my hair back into a tight bun, forcing the rubber band around it so many times it hurts my fingers. 

Seeing my grandmother come out onto the porch, I put the sung glasses on and make my way down the walk without acknowledging her. I look left, then right, trying to decide which way I want to go. I decide to chase the setting sun as it lights the sky on fire defiantly despite knowing it is about to be exiled to the depths of the ocean and its' flames extinguished without a sound. It was fucking fitting. Forget the caged bird, I knew how the sun felt. As my feet hit the asphalt, I concentrated on my breathing, trying to clear my mind. I let the music wash over me, matching my strides to the bass line.

I ran as hard as I could till the c.d. ended seventy two minutes and thirty four seconds later. Only when the music stopped did I slow down and stretch my aching body against a lamp post. I'm covered in sweat and angry tears. God I hate PMS. Isn't my life fucking hard enough as it is? 

The light flickers on and I realize that it's dark now. I'm so hot right now I guess I didn't realize the sun had already lost. Don't worry buddy, you'll get another shot. Better luck tomorrow. Taking a deep breathe, I realize that I'm only a couple of blocks from the beach. Hell I came this far, might as well cool off.

Pushing my shades up, I make my way to the water. I'm calmer now, but empty. If it didn't suck ass so much, I think I'd be amazed by the human capacity for emotion. One minute you can be filled with an all consuming rage. The next minute you're hollow. I spot a pay phone and head for it. Staring out at the ocean as I lift the receiver, I punch in the number for the emergency calling card my mom made me memorize. When the voice at the other land gives the okay, I dial the number of the only person I can think of right now who can make me feel better. 

"Hello?" The male voice is groggy and scratchy.

"Hey. I'm sorry I didn't think you'd be sleeping." I'm surprised how weak I sound. I clear my throat and continue. "Go back to sleep, I'll talk to you later."

"Wait, Let- don't hang up. What's wrong? What happened?" He's awake now, and worried.

I'm quiet for a moment. What should I tell him? That I freaked out over nothing? Even if I could think of something to say, the lump in my throat is so big, I doubt any words could slip past it.

"Let? You there?" There's some noise in the background. I can just picture him fumbling with the light next to his bed and searching for his keys. "Where are you kid?" 

"I'm… I'm outside of that gelato shop." I let the p 'pop' softly.

I hear him swear. "Sorry, I stubbed my toe. Don't move. I'll be right there." 

I nod, and give a small smile, even though I know he can't see me. Hanging up the phone, I walk over to a bench and sit down to wait. The moon is full and its high tide. I stare out at the crashing waves. The night is still, but thanks to the light from the moon, it is beautiful, soothing, and cool. For now I am grateful that the sun is not here to burn me.

End Five.


	6. Opening Up

**D/L – Still Don't Own Them- Still Not Worth The Effort To Sue Me.**

Sitting on the bench, my knees drawn up to my chest, I lost track of time. The crashing waves were hypnotizing. After a while the bench became uncomfortable so I got barefoot and made my way to the water's edge. The sand felt nice between my toes, but my calves and glutes did not appreciate being forced into action. I was about to sit down again when I heard his voice.

"Hey," he said, approaching slowly. He had his keys in one hand and a big towel draped over the other. He smiled when he reached me, and pulled me into his arms. "I've missed you."

I take a deep breath, savoring how it felt to be cherished. "I've missed you too."

With one last squeeze, he ruffled my hair and took a step back. "Let me spread the towel out, and then you can tell me what happened."

I nodded, watching him smooth out the sand then lay the towel out. "Thanks for coming. You think I can get a ride home?"

"No problema chica." He sat down unceremoniously and splayed his legs open. He gave a little tilt of his head and patted the spot in front of him, wordlessly telling me to sit there. "You look a little tired, come here and I'll give you a massage."

I smiled and agreed, letting him pull me down. He took my hair down and ran his fingers thru my hair and massaged my scalp. I let out a long sigh as he made his way slowly down my neck. "Mmmm. Wanna get married?"

He chucked, but continued. "You're a little young, but ask me again in a few years. I'll say yes."

"Promise?" I'd meant to say it teasingly, but his hands were so strong it came out sounding more like a moan.

He kissed my neck and nodded. "Of course. I'd give you the world if I could."

"Mmmm. I don't want the world. All I want is for you to get that knot by your right thumb. Please." Good girl- you kept your voice light this time.

He moved his hand a little lower, pressing his thumb into my tight muscles. His strokes were deep and slow. "As you wish," he whispered kissing my neck once again.

I laughed. "The Princess Bride? What do you think the boys would say if they heard you quoting that chick flick?"

Growling, he stretched his legs out next to mine. "Hey, don't mock my game girly. It worked on you, didn't it?"

Laughing, I looked over my shoulder at him, letting my eyes run up and down his body. "Riiiight. It was your _game_. Woops. My bad. I thought I agreed to go out with you because you're fricking hot, but whatever."

"Why do I feel like a piece of meat right now?"

"Mmm, if it makes you feel better, you're probably U.S.D.A. Prime A Top Choice or whatever it's called."

"You're bad." He turned me down onto my stomach and straddled my ass. "Maybe I should protect my reputation by telling you ahead of time that this is just a _massage_. No beach blanket bingo tonight."

"Funny, I thought I was the virgin and you were the playa," I said lazily as he used his elbow on my back.

Leaning down so that his body hovered over mine, he whispered into my ear. "Don't hate the playa, hate the game."

I bit back a moan unsuccessfully as his hands went from the small of my back to the top of my ass. "I… thought… we said… you didn't…. have any game." Damn, he's good with his hands.

He stilled then lifted his hands almost completely off of me. "If you don't like my game, we could always change the rules."

"No!" I groaned, embarrassed. "Smooth, real smooth. Shit, never mind. You might as well stop before I get the urge to shout out bingo or something."

"I _told _you I got game." He laughed as he rolled me over then lay down next to me. As we stared up at the sky, I could tell that he was waiting for me to tell him why we were here.

Not really knowing where to start, I just blurted it out. "My grandmother said I had no father."

He winced at that, understanding implicitly how that hurt. "Why'd she say that?"

"She was giving me the 'speech' today after I got home from work. She said something about how even tho Mia doesn't have a mom around she still managed to grow into a 'lady' while I had no father but was still acting like a boy or something." The lump was back in my throat. I shrugged, trying to indicate that was all I had to say.

"You know she didn't mean him any disrespect Letty. I know your grandmother, she loves your dad." He took my hand and kissed it. "You know she does."

"I just miss him so much sometimes. It's not fair, why did it have to be him? He didn't deserve this." I roll into his chest and start to cry. "It's not his fault he can't be here."

"No one said that baby." He wrapped his arms around me trying unsuccessfully to comfort me. "What did you say to her?"

Between my sobs I tried to tell him. "I ta, ta, ta, told her I ha ha have a father and tha that she shouldn't say shit like that."

"You do, you have a wonderful father Letty. But you know she's right too, don't you? You stopped wearing dresses when he went away. You were always daddy's little girl, but when daddy left, it's like that part of you left too." He kissed my head and rubbed my back slowly.

"I wore a dress to graduation," I said defensively.

"And you looked very beautiful. But you know I'm right."

"I still work on cars and do all the stuff he used to do." I sigh. "It's not my fault that I changed after he… had to go."

He sighed and gave me another squeeze. "I wish you believed that. I was there Letty, I remember when we found him on the floor after he had his stroke. I rode with you both in the ambulance to the hospital and held you when you cried because we couldn't reach your mom and grandma."

"Dominic, stop… I don't want to think about this," I said on the verge of tears.

"Letty, I'm not trying to push you, I'm just telling you that I was there- I heard you blame yourself. You thought it was your fault then, even though we all told you, even the doctors told you, that it wasn't."

"I'm not eleven anymore Dominic. I know it wasn't my fault."

"Do you? Do you remember what you said to me that night? You said it was your fault he worked so hard and that if you hadn't kept asking him for new dresses, or new toys, or whatever, that he wouldn't have had to work so hard. And then, after his stroke it was as if you were trying to take over for him, fill his shoes."

I was crying in earnest again, my whole body shaking. "He worked too hard. He didn't have time to take care of himself."

"He worked hard because he loved the work AND because he loved you and your mother." Dominic's voice was authoritative, but gentle. "It wasn't your fault Letty. You have to stop blaming yourself."

"I just miss him so damn much Dominic. It hurts so bad sometimes. I thought it would get better, but sometimes I get so tired of stressing about this all the damn time. I never see my mom anymore either 'cause she's always working 'cause there's always bills to pay. That place just costs so damn much Dom. And he's not getting better. Sometimes I wish- I just wish it was over." I've never said it out loud before because I'm ashamed. "I'm a horrible person, aren't I? I'm supposed to be Catholic Dom. Just thinking that shit could send me to hell forever."

Dom propped himself onto one elbow so he could look at me. "Mija, no. You're not a bad person. You're a wonderful person. When my mom… when she was sick, I used to pray that God would take her to heaven so she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. So Mia wouldn't have to watch our mother wither away slowly, or so my father wouldn't stay up all night crying at the kitchen table anymore. If you were a horrible person you wouldn't care that your family is suffering, and you certainly wouldn't blame yourself for it."

I look up at him and give his shoulder a small squeeze. It amazes me how much comfort Dom and I can draw from the small touches we exchange. "Does it still hurt Dom? Missing your mom?"

Dom grimaces and nods as he stretches out beside me once again. "It does. It's been eight years tho, so sometimes… sometimes I forget what she looked like. I know he's not the same Letty, but at least you can go visit your dad and talk to him. He may not be like he was before, but he's in there, somewhere."

"I know." I close my eyes and sigh once again. "I am grateful for that, I am."

"So you good now?"

Without opening my eyes, I smiled and nodded. "Better anyways."

"Good." Dom trailed his fingers over my stomach, tickling me lightly.

I opened my eyes. "Thanks for listening. I know I've been a mess today. I'm glad you're around to make me feel better."

He winked and kissed my chin before sucking gently on my bottom lip. "I'll always be here to make you feel better." He kisses me again, his touch light, more comforting than inviting. "I know this isn't the time mija, but I called in to the clinic today."

I arched my eyebrow and pursed my lips slightly. "And?"

"All system's go."

He looked so excited I had to laugh. "Eager little bastard aren't you?"

Dom slapped my stomach in disapproval. "What did we say about the word 'little' being used to describe me or Big Dom?"

I rolled my eyes and used my best ben stein-like voice to repeat what he'd said two weeks before. "There's nothing little about him."

"Damn Straight." Dom sat up and smirked down at me. "One of these days I'll introduce you. If you're lucky."

"You're so full of shit, you know that Torretto?" I stood up and shook the sand off myself the best I could. I smiled at him so he'd know I was teasing.

Jumping to his feet he pulled me close to him so fast I didn't even have time to blink. "And you love it." He kissed with a purpose this time, branding me so I'd remember I was his.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him back, determined to fight fire with fire. "Damn Straight Torretto." I pulled him closer to me and realized we were not alone. I sucked on Dom's earlobe as I asked a rather obvious question. "Oh, is that Big D? Does he want to come out and play?"

"Si bonita. He is very eager to meet you." Dom pushed his pelvis into mine while doing his best Antonio Banderas impression.

"You're not playing fair Dom," I said as I scratched his back. "You know how to get me all excited but I don't know what gets you off. You have an unfair advantage."

Dom nuzzled my neck, nibbling. "Honey if you were any better at getting me off I'd be in jail for the rest of my life." Reluctantly he let go of me and grabbed the towel. "Let's get you home before your moms sends the fuzz after me."

I smack his ass playfully and grab my shoes. "Race ya." Not waiting for him to answer, I took off toward the parking lot. Spotting his car I made a mad dash for it, knowing it was futile. Dom was the king of racing- no one ever beat him.

Amazingly I made it to the pay phone before Dom scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder. Still running full speed Dom carried me like it was nothing. When we reached the car he put me down on the hood of the car and kissed my nose. "Nice try kiddo. When you gonna learn that you can't beat me?"

I smiled shyly and ran my hand down the side of his cheek. "You know I like the thrill of the chase. Besides as long as you're with me I can't loose, can I?"

"And I guess that means I didn't technically win either huh? I knew you were hella smart." Pushing my sunglasses down to my nose Dom grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Better keep those bright eyes hidden or else I'll do something I regret."

The drive home was nice and chill, devoid of drama thank God. We talked about the cars we were working on at the garage and the new sponsor that was trying to sign Tony. When we reached my house 20 minutes later, I was almost in as good a mood as I had been before walking in to the kitchen this morning.

We pulled into the drive way and Dom turned the engine off. He leaned back against his door and tilted his head, inviting me over. "Come here mija," he said softly, patting his lap.

Blushing I nodded, fumbling with my seat belt and crawling over onto his lap. "Hey."

"Hey." His kiss was slow but so damn possessive it made my heart stop. His tongue slipped passed his lips and traced my own encouraging them to part. When they did open up for him he deepened the kiss, making me whimper. "Dom," I groaned into his mouth. "I have to go inside."

"Not yet. I want to see you first. I'm going to need something to remember you this weekend." He reclined the seat so that he was staring up at me. He slid his hands up under my tank top, stroking my torso. "Do you trust me mija?"

I nodded, but pushed his hands down, smiling shyly. "Not here Dom. What if someone sees?" I leaned down, intending to give him a good bye kiss, but doing so made me rub myself against… well… Big Dom.

"Oh Christ," Dominic gasped before taking control of the kiss and burying his hands in my hair. I could tell he was shaken, really shaken, by the reaction he'd had to my innocent movement.

Not wanting to get too carried away in my driveway, I broke the kiss, but didn't try to sit up right away. I waited till his breathing started to level out before I carefully went back to the passenger seat. Deciding to ignore what just happened, I played with the door handle and stared out the window. "I take it your dad wants you to go with him this weekend?"

Popping the seat back upright, Dom rubbed his temple. "Yeah. He called the house this afternoon from the pit. He said it like he wanted my help but I think he was worried about something like this happening."

I couldn't help but smile again. "At least you get to watch him compete." I glanced at him, but made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Even though I haven't had that much experience, I could tell he wanted me pretty badly. "Mia can stay over here if she wants. You know my abuela will absolutely _love_ that. Who knows, maybe we'll stay up all night and paint each other's toe nails or something."

"That would be hot if you were doing it with anyone else besides my baby sister," Dom laughed before making a stern face and frowning. "Don't tell Vince. You know the perv'll spend the weekend imagining you two in matching small frilly pink negligees and spanking it."

I gave an exaggerated shudder and laughed as I got out of the car. "Don't worry. I won't." Holding the door open I lean across the passenger seat to give him one last kiss. "Be good, have fun, don't do anything that'll piss me off," I said sweetly.

"Ditto." Dom winked as I closed the door. He started the car and reversed out of the driveway. Just as he was about to pull out, he stopped and rolled down the window. "Hey Leticia?" Giving me a knowing look, he leaned out of his window an motioned for me to come over to him.

I took my sun glasses off the top of my head and buffed them with my shirt before answering. Didn't want the boy to know that I actually liked him calling me by my full name. "Yes Dominic?" I looked to see if anyone was around before shrugging and walking up to his car for what I thought was one last good bye kiss. When I reached the window, I leaned down so that we were eye level. "Miss me already?"

He smiled as he reached up and ran his thumb over my lower lip. He stared at my mouth for a moment before looking deep into my eyes. Dom slowly moved his thumb down to my chin, gently guiding me down so that our lips were nearly touching. "You know I love you right?"

I smiled for the thousandth time since graduation. "I figured."

Grinning, he dropped his hand and moved away slowly. "Hella smart, ain't you mija?" He pulled on his seat belt and ran his hand thru his hair. That was his tell, the sign that he was frustrated. Both he and Tony would rub either do the hair thing or rub their temples when they were aggravated. "I wish you could come with me this weekend. Baby, when this is over and we don't have to hide anymore, it'll be different. I promise. It'll be you and me, no questions asked." He sighed, regret written all over his face. I nodded, once again not trusting myself to speak. This was a side of Dom that no one else got to see, not even Mia. It made me feel so damn amazing that he trusted me enough to let his guard down.

As I watched him drive off, the strangest thought crossed my mind and I had to laugh. We were like an Oreo cookie, the two of us together. Two separate, hard, arguably "dark" entities joined by something soft and pure. Every part of an Oreo is just okay by itself, but when you put it all together the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. There was something really comforting about that. Oreo's might not be the world's most glamorous food, but they'd been around practically forever and would be around forever.


	7. New Year, New Start

**A/N- **Due to popular demand, here's are two new chapters. I had planned to hold off on posting till I got the characters to where I wanted, but I'm a sucker for those reviews. Please forgive the lack of editing, hopefully I'll have time to clean up everything I've posted so far and to write some more soon.

**Chapter 8: New Year, New Start**

Over the next few months Dom and I were really careful about keeping our relationship a secret. We'd snuggle a little on the couch when Tony was at the shop or track, but tried to make sure someone was around just so we wouldn't be tempted to go upstairs. Every third Wednesday we'd go on a date- nothing fancy but that way we managed to get in some quality time together. I'm not really sure how "our day" ended up with the middle of the week, but I used to tease Dom by referring to it as "dry hump-days."

When school started again, things were a little surreal for me at first. Though we hadn't talked at all over the summer, Adrian seemed genuinely happy to see me on the first day of school. Spotting Mia and I, he came up to us all smiles, dragging this scrawny boy with him. I'll admit that I was a little tense at first, I mean Mia still didn't know and the last conversation I'd had with Age had basically been the closest thing to a public confession that I'd had.

Thankfully Age was really cool about the whole thing. "Hey Mia, Letty, _que__ tal? __Como__ estas?"_

"_Asi__ asi._ You know how it goes. First day always sucks." I shrug and glance over at the boy next to him. "So who's the shadow?"

"This is my cousin Jesse. He's staying with me and the parentals for a while. Jesse, this is Letty and Mia, the ones I was telling you about. You know, with the garage."

Jesse gives a shy grin and stutters a little. "Wha what's up? What kinda work do you do? At the garage I mean?"

"Well Tony does a little bit of everything, but lately we've been customizing a lot of imports," I say as I dump some books in my locker. "You into cars?"

Jesse nods. "There's just something about an engine that soothes me, you know?"

"Oh God, another one. Adrian, do you ever feel out numbered by these grease monkeys?" Mia asked, rolling her eyes.

Grinning like a fool, Adrian nodded. "But hell, if you can't beat em, join em."

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of nine months of torture. Turned out that Jesse was in almost all of my classes, while Adrian and I were only in drama together. (I know, I know, ironic right?) Thankfully the day went by pretty quickly. Even though he was a spaz, Jesse and I got a long really well. We both had trouble with our reading intensive classes but did okay in our math and science ones. Well, that's not exactly true. I did okay and Jesse breezed through them. The kid was a fricking wizard.

When the day ended Jesse and I walked out of class and headed toward the front parking lot where Dom was supposed to pick Mia and me up and Adrian was supposed to meet Jesse. We talked a little about the import show coming up the next weekend and about the Torretto's garage, but we didn't get into any personal stuff. There was something about Jess that made worry about him though. For one it's not really a good sign when you end up living with your relatives. I decided to let it be for now, but to try to look out for him as best I could- even if that meant spending a little more time with Adrian than Dom would like.

Jesse and I had spent about ten minutes in the sun waiting for Mia and Adrian when they finally showed up. "What the hell Mi, you're lucky you got here before Dom did. You know he hates to wait. What took the two of you so long?"

"Chill out, Brit Lit just ran over," Mia laughed as she dug thru her purse looking for something. "What are you, Dom's bitch now? I was like two minutes late and you're flipping out."

"Whatever," I said crossly, trying to play off her comment. The last thing I needed was Adrian to tell Mia just exactly what I'd said that night. "He's doing us a favor Mi, that's all I'm saying."

Thankfully Adrian didn't even bat an eye when Dom's name came up. "Speaking of favors, do you think Dom'll mind taking Jesse home for me? Coach wanted to talk to me about the season. I thought we were supposed to meet tomorrow but I got the day wrong."

"I can wait Age, it's no big deal." Jesse rubbed his neck absently, looking like he didn't want to make waves.

I put my hand on Jesse's arm and smiled, trying to put him at ease. "I have a better idea Jess. Why don't you come back to the garage with us and you can meet the Dom and Vince. They're assholes, but they're pretty good with cars. Age can pick you up after he's done."

Mia's face lit up at my suggestion. "That's a great idea Letty. If things work out today maybe you could work at the garage after school Jesse. That way Letty could work the store while I'm at-"

I'd been looking at Jesse, but whipped my head around to glare at Mia. My nostrils flaring, I interrupted her. "What was that? Why exactly do you want me to take over your job when I have one I actually like?"

"I'm trying out for the cross country team." Mia smiled weakly. "Come on Let, it'll only be for like a couple of months."

"If you want to run Mia, get your ass up in the morning and come running with me." I shook my head. "Why do you need a coach to tell you how to run?"

"It's for college. I wanted to have a sport on my transcript and you know I'm too uncoordinated for anything that involves hitting, kicking, spiking or doing the splits." Mia pleaded. "Please Letty… you could get a lot of your homework done while you're there and the pay's the same."

Luckily for her Dom drove up before I could tell her what to do with her idea. I rolled my eyes and told her we'd talk about it later. Waving good bye to Adrian, I grabbed the somewhat reluctant Jesse and headed down toward the car. "Remember Jesse, Dom can be… difficult when you first meet him, but he's really a sweet guy. Just don't tell him I told you that." Jesse smiled and nodded as I opened the passenger side door.

"Who's this?" Dom asked, tipping his head down so he could see over his Dragons and get a clear look at Jesse. "You find a new boyfriend on the first day of school Leticia?"

"Shut up Dominick. This is Jesse, he's Adrian's cousin." I wince inwardly realizing that wasn't the best way to introduce Jesse.

"Adrian? You mean Suarez?" Dom's voice got a little steely when I nodded.

Out of nowhere Jesse spoke up. "That's right. The guy Letty broke up with so she could be with you. We're family."

Dom looked visibly startled by the comment. "I'm not with Letty," Dom said slowly. "She's too young for me boy." Dom glanced passed Jesse toward the fast approaching Mia.

Jesse just looked from me to Dom and shrugged as he got into the back seat of the car. I slid in next to him so that Mia could sit in the front. Turning to me, Jesse said slyly, "People actually believe the two of you when you lie about being together like that?"

For some reason I just grinned and nodded. "Even Mia, so if you could not say anything about it again, I bet Dom'll appreciate it. Won't you Dom?" Watching Dom glare at Jesse in the rear view mirror just as he had glared at me a few months ago, I kicked his seat. "Dom."

"I wouldn't have to be grateful if you'd just kept your mouth shut Let," Dom hissed as Mia put her stuff in the trunk.

"He's hyper Dom, not stupid. Now shut up, Mia's getting into the car."

"Why do I feel like you're always telling me to shut up?" Dom muttered under his breath as Mia opened the door.

"Did I miss something?" Mia asked, taking note of the weird vibes coming from the three of us.

"Naw, Dom was just offering me a job is all," Jess grinned wickedly.

"Great! That way Letty can work at the store after all," Mia said excitedly as she changed the station.

Dom shook his head in defeat, rubbed his eyes and started the engine. "I don't even know how this happened."

"Don't complain Dom, you're not the one who'll be stuck in the store all by yourself while the newbie gets to work on cars and your sister is off running for some idiot coach just so she can boost her chances of getting into Dartmouth or Middlebury or wherever the hell random east coast school she wants to go to this week." I sighed dramatically, trying to lighten the mood a little. "I'm the victim here. Remind me never to defy expectations and actually try to be nice again, will you?"

"You're right, that does suck. Have fun," Dom laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street. "So what, should I drop the two of you off at the store so Mia can teach you the ropes before she becomes super jock Barbie?"

I kicked Dom's seat again, not willing to put up with his attitude. "Oh hell no. I'll be stuck in that hell hole for way too long as it is, I'd prefer not to set foot in it till absolutely necessary. Don't worry, I've been there before, I know what to do." Leaning forward between the front seats I flicked Mia's arm. "You do realize you owe me your soul for this, don't you Mia?"

Brushing my hand aside, Mia planted a big fake kiss on my cheek. "How about I do your English papers for the semester and we call it even?"

"Have you been smoking Dom's weed? Do you know what my mom would do to me if she found out you were doing my work? Thanks but no thanks chica. I'd rather suffer thru on my own. Let's just say you owe me one till I can think of a suitable punishment." Returning to my seat, I buckled up. Given Dom's penchant for speed, I always wear my seat belt when he's driving. Sure I love him, but I'm not stupid.

For the rest of the drive Dom quizzed Jesse to figure out if the kid actually knew about cars. I can't blame him, given that Adrian needs help changing his own oil, things weren't stacking up in Jesse's favor. Luckily Jesse held his own and asking a few of the right ones in response to Dom's probing.

We dropped Mia off at the store and I jumped into the front seat. When Dom was sure Mia was safely inside and out of sight, he leaned over and kissed me, using just enough tongue to make me wish Jesse wasn't in the car. Shit, scratch that. Dom used enough tongue to make Jesse wish himself out of the car.

Hearing Jesse cough and squirm in the back seat, Dom broke the kiss and chuckled. I must have looked startled under my bright red cheeks, because Dom laughed again. "What, if he already knows then if I want to kiss you I'm going to kiss you."

From the back seat Jesse made another unexpected comment. "Adrian's right, you really do have game playa."

"Boy, I don't need to play no more, I got all the trophy I ever needed right here," Dom said suavely before kissing me again lightly, then laughing when I had to jack the A.C. onto high and fan my shirt a little. "You know the drill right, you tell anyone and I'll kick your ass. Since Letty seems to like and trust you, I'd hate to put the hurt on you, but I will if I have to."

Jesse shrugs and nods. "Why you gotta keep it a secret anyway? Didn't you just graduate? It's not like you're that old, right?"

Putting my hand on Dom's thigh, I stroked his leg slow and innocent like. "He's nineteen and I'm fifteen. Tony doesn't approve, and neither would my mother. So for now, we're trying to keep this on the down low."

"Well so far you're doing a pretty shitty job since Adrian figured it out back in June. Even if he hadn't told me, all I had to do is look at the two of you together and I woulda figured it out that you're doing the nasty." Jesse's let his leg bounced up and down absentmindedly as he stared out the window and cracked his knuckles.

Changing the station back to Dom's favorite, I laughed. "We're pretty good at making a mess of thing."

When we got to the garage things were a mess and Vince was running around trying to find an adaptor for some wiper blades. "Dom man, we gotta get some more help down here. We could handle things without Tony while Letty was here full time, but four people brought their cars in since you left dawg. Letty, thank god you're back. Can you do the oil change and tire rotation on the Toyota today and help me out with the Dodge after? I think it's going to be a two day job since the idiot did a pretty good job smashing it to pieces."

Walking in, I headed toward my locker. "Well I got your back on the Toyota Vince, but starting tomorrow I gotta work at the store. Mia's joining the cross country team so I get bitch duty at the store for the next- God I don't even want to think about how long it'll be. Jesse can probably help you out."

"You Jesse?" Vince asked as he snapped the old blades off of the Dodge.

"Yeah." Jesse replied.

Looking him up and down quickly, Vince didn't skip a beat as he replaced the old blades with the new ones. "Grab some coveralls and jump in. We got shit to do."


	8. Hands Full

Because things were so backed up at the garage, I didn't notice that two hours flew by. After finishing up with the things Vince assigned me, I'd lent him and Jesse a hand. Vince was right, the car was pretty seriously fucked up. I was in the middle of mentally cursing out the owner when Adrian drove up in his father's Camry. I watched Dom drop his wrench, stalk over to the office without a word and slam the door. Great. This isn't going to be awkward at all. Wiping my hand on a rag, I kicked Jesse's foot and told him to come out from under the car and get his shit together since Adrian was here.

"Hey Letty, how'd it go?" Adrian asked as he walked into the garage.

"Pretty well actually. Jesse's going to be helping out around the garage for a while, at least until Mia's season ends. Your parent's aren't going to care, are they? I mean they didn't need him at Carlo's, did they?" I walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of ice tea and took a couple of chugs straight up.

"Naw, Jesse's great but he and my dad's buiz don't really get along. Jesse's isn't really cut out for the whole customer service slash working with people thing. They'll be glad he's found something he likes to do." As he talked, Adrian watched Jesse clean himself up and get ready to go. You could tell that Adrian had a soft spot for his cousin which took any potential sting out of his observations about Jesse's nature. "How many hours a week are we talking?"

"Probably about four hours a day on weekdays, and then as much as he wants to put in on weekends. It sounds like we're kinda busy right now." I put the ice tea back in the fridge. "I guess he can ride back here with me and Dom and then you can pick him up after practice."

Adrian nodded and turned to look at me. "How's that going by the way?"

"We ahh, we're not official or anything like that. He knows I care about him, I know he cares about me. But we're trying not to, you know, make a big thing about it." I blush under his questioning gaze.

"So basically you're asking me not to tell anyone about the two of you, is that it?" Adrian asked softly.

I nodded guiltily. "You don't mind, do you? I know I don't have the right to ask you this favor, especially because, well, you know."

"Because you dumped my ass for him? Go on, you can say it, it's the truth." Adrian laughed in a self deprecating manner. "Actually that works in your favor here. Like I said that night, I don't need to be compared to Don Juan De Marco." Despite his words, he didn't look like a guy who was worried about his reputation, but rather he looked a little sad. "I won't say anything if you don't want me to. You know I'd do anything to make you happy." Almost against his will he reached out to touch my cheek. "Mira, if he ever hurts you I swear to God I'll make him sorry."

Trying not to shake, I took a step back, away from him. Nodding slightly, I gave him a small smile. "Jesse's waiting, you better go now." I closed my eyes and leaned back against the fridge, trying not to freak out. I know I don't love him, I know that we'd make even less sense together than Dom and I do. But knowing that someone cares so much about you that they'd do anything for you even though you've hurt them is a heavy experience.

I took a few deep breathes and tried to steady myself, then opened my eyes again to see Dominic staring at me from the office. He looked pretty pissed off. His mouth set firm, he shook his head. Great, just what I needed to top off the already perfect day.

Dom turned his back to me and walked out of the office. "Vince, brotha, why don't you go over to the track and ask my dad what he wants to do about us being short staffed. You might as well ask him there so you can meet any potentials he might have in mind there."

Vince rolled out from under the Dodge and sat up. "Don't you want to do it Dom? I mean it's basically your garage."

Dom shook his head. "Naw man, I trust you. Besides I gotta be here to sign for some parts that are supposed to be dropped off today. Cut out early while you can. Tomorrow's going to be a shitty day."

Dom didn't have to tell Vince twice. Faster than you can say 'Indy 500' Vince was out the door and headed down to see Tony. Leaving the two of us alone in the garage. Dom watched Vince until he was out of sight, then closed the door to the garage and turned off the 'Open' light.

I walked over to him and put my hand on his arm. "Dominic, look I know you're mad, but it didn't mean anything Papi, I swear." I knew it sounded like I was begging for forgiveness, but I didn't care. Tony had passed on very little of his Italian heritage to his son, but jealousy, possessiveness, and a passionate nature were among them. I wanted to let him know there was nothing to worry about before he let his temper get the best of him.

Dom put a finger to my lips with his left hand and zipped my coveralls down with his right. He pushed the top off my shoulders, letting it fall to my hips and leaving me in just my bra from the waist up. Without a word Dom lifted me up, his hands on my ass and carried me to the couch. He sat down, keeping me on his lap and buried his face in my chest, breathing deeply. I stroked his head, pulling him to me just slightly. His breath was hot on my skin, coming in irregular intervals.

He pulled his head back and looked into my eyes. "I don't share well," he said raggedly, taking my hair down and running his fingers thru it.

"You don't have to share me, I'm yours. Only yours, Dominic. I love you." I took his hand and placed it over my heart. "I'm yours Papi." I kissed his forehead and nodded, giving him permission to touch me.

Dom slipped his hand under my bra and cupped my breast in his hand, kneading it somewhat roughly. "Mine," he growled, pulling me out from behind the thin cloth. Taking my nipple in his mouth, Dom sucked on it hard enough to make me gasp. His free hand snaked around and unhooked my bra, exposing me to him. I had to fight the urge to try and cover myself, there was something so… animalistic about his gaze. "_Mi mujer_, _mi amore._"

"_Papi-_" I whimpered as he took my other nipple in his hand, teasing it gently. I tugged at his clothing, wanting to feel his skin against mine. "Dominic I want to touch you. Please Dom?"

"It's not Wednesday, _mija_. You know the rules." Dom teased, as his fingers ran up and down my belly. He leaned back and smiled at me knowingly.

"But Dominic…" I stroked his chin and nibbled on his ear. "You always do this. You always get me wanting you. Please, let me show you how you make me feel. Let me make you want me." I kissed him, tugging on his lower lip with my teeth. "_Te amo_."

"I love it when you beg _mija_. It's so fucking sexy that you can't keep your hands off of me," Dom whispered as he held my hands in his. "You want to show me? Hmm _mija_?" He leaned up and kissed me hard, releasing my hands and burying his in my hair once again.

"_Si_ Dominic. Please?" I smiled down at him, arching into him and rubbing that spot behind his ears that drove him crazy.

"You better zip up then. If we're going to do this, then I don't want to be tempted," Dom consented, kissing my nose lightly.

"But Dominic-" I whined as my temperature soared. He gave me a stern look and I realized that whining would get me nowhere. I licked my lips and tried a new tactic. Pressing my body against his, I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I want to feel you next to me."

"Letty I don't have any condoms here," Dominic groaned as I unzipped his coveralls and pushed them from his shoulders in much the same manner as he had done to me just a few minutes ago. "In fact I tossed all my condoms the day after graduation just so you couldn't tempt me like this."

Sliding down off his lap and onto my knees, I licked his chest and purred. "See, you have a plan. Nothing bad will happen. I'll be good, I promise." I blew over his damp skin and smiled as his muscles clenched.

"Oh God, Oh God, Oh God." Dominic moaned as I tugged his coveralls down off his hips and slid my hand into his boxers. I watched him throw his head back as I pushed his boxers off and exposed him to me for the first time. Next time I go to church, I'm going to have to thank God for His generosity. "Letty we can't." Dom was huffing and puffing now, the sweat running off his body in such quantities it seemed he had just run a marathon.

I kissed Big Dom softly, watching him grow even bigger as my hands stroked him. I took Dom's hands and placed them one at a time on my breasts, making sure to always have one of my own hands on his cock. "Do you really want me to cover up Dominic? Because I will, if that's what you want me to do. Tell me what you want Dominic." I leaned forward and ran my tongue from his base to the tip, making sure that my eyes were on his the entire time. I let a soft moan escape my lips as his hands clasped around me reflexively, and I could tell that the sound drove him closer to the edge than he had expected to go.

"You're trying to kill me," Dominic swore as I slowly and very carefully tried to take the tip into my mouth. I nodded and in so doing took a little more of his length in. "Letty, you don't have to baby. I don't want you to hurt yourself." He hissed as my tongue flattened against his shaft. Dom stroked my cheek and pulled my head off of his.

I shook my head no in disagreement. "I want to do this Dominic. I want to show you how good you make me feel." As I went to take him back in my mouth he stopped me once again.

"Baby, no. If we're going to do this, I really should be wearing a condom." Dom stroked my lower lip with his thumb for a moment before pulling me back up onto the couch and tucking himself back into his boxers.

"For this?" I asked, confused. "It's not like I can get pregnant if you cum in my mouth Dominic. Even I know that."

Kissing my forehead, Dom handed me my bra and helped me get back into it. "I know mija, but with you, all my best intentions fly out the window. What good are my plans if we don't stick to them, hmmm? Besides, it's just good business to make a guy suit up for any kind of sex, including oral. You remember that." He tweaked my nose playfully.

I rolled my eyes and struggled back into my uniform. "As if you aren't the only guy I'd even think of giving head to. But I'll try to remember that for the next guy I get with. Especially since there are so many of them lining up to choose from."

Dom laughed as he helped me put my hair back up. "Well considering I almost flipped my shit when the paco- I'm sorry, Suarez, touched you just now, I'm glad you don't realize how freaking hot you are. Suarez is the only idiot who's had the balls to ask you out, but believe me Mija, I've seen the way guys stare at you. Between you and Mia, Vince and I had our hands full last year beating down your admirers." He kissed my now exposed neck and then playfully pushed me out of the office. "Baby you know I love you, but I ah, gotta take care of some business just now. Give me a few minutes and I'll drive you home."

I arched an eyebrow at him as I sauntered out of the office. "Are you sure I can't help you with that?"

Dom snorted and shook his head. "You've been more than enough help already. When Vince said we needed to hire another set of hands here, I felt like telling him we wouldn't have to if I could keep mine off you, or at least keep my mind off of you."

"You been flushing your fuel injection system pretty regularly Papi?" I teased as I got my ice tea out of the fridge.

"You're a bad bad girl Leticia. One of these days I'm going to give you that spanking," Dom laughed as he closed the office door.

Going to my locker to get my school things out, I shouted two simple words to him over my shoulder that I knew would keep him up tonight. "You promise?"


	9. Comfort in Uncertain Times

A/N- From here on out, I'm going to have to jump ahead a bit. Sorry if it feels like I'm in fast forward mode. P.S. Don't torture yourselves trying to do the math to make the time lines jive. Let's just say it's a good thing I'm not an accountant.

Being a Torretto, there was never any question that Mia would make the cross country team. Like her father and brother before her, she was born to race. She didn't start off as the fastest girl on the team, but by the middle of the season she was winning nearly every meet she entered. I have to admit that I was proud of her, though it still irritated the shit out of me that I had to take her place in the store every day after school. Tony was doing pretty well in his races so money we hired extra help, both at the garage, and at the store. Since they had a lunch counter, Tony ended up hiring my grandmother of all people to come in during the days and on weekends. We'd both apologized for what we'd said that night early in the summer, so working with her was pretty cool. I would rather have been at the garage, but this way I had time to do my homework while I made money.

Down at the garage, Vince and Dom brought this guy Leon in to help and it wasn't long before the three of them – and Jesse of course- were making grand plans for world domination. Luckily for us the only world they were interested in conquering was the racing world.

As for Dom and I, well things were going pretty well. We still hadn't had sex, but Dom had taught me a hell of a lot of other ways we could make each other feel good. Very, very, very good. We still went out on Wednesdays, but now he also came running with me in the mornings as well. When I asked him why he decided to join me, he joked that it was the only legal way he knew for me to help him burn off his morning wood. More often than not we kept it clean. We'd run the five miles and just talk. Occasionally we'd go to the garage to fool around instead, but we kept those excursions to a minimum after Tony almost caught us in a compromising position.

Around the middle of November my dad started to take a turn for the worse. I'd been visiting him every Sunday morning since we'd put him in the home, but somehow I hadn't expected him to actually die. I spent every day Thanksgiving week by his side with my mother and grandmother. We talked to him, read to him, did everything we could just to try to keep him with us.

During the times that my mom absolutely had to be at work, Dom would come down and sit with me. It took a lot out of him because it reminded him of his mother, but he came. Sometimes he brought sandwiches, which I wouldn't eat, or coffee, which I drank only so I could stay awake longer. We'd share a chair and Dom would rub my shoulders while I read my father parts of the last book my father had given me, "A Prayer For Owen Meany."

If either my mother or my grandmother knew why Dominic came down, and not Mia, they never said anything. Maybe they knew it wasn't the time, or maybe they were really okay with it, I'm not sure. What I do know is that they both heard what Dom said to my father on that last day.

Dom and I had spent the night in Papa's room, and my mother and grandmother were just arriving. I'd gone into the hall to talk with them and get some more coffee, leaving Dom asleep in the big chair at my father's side. When we opened the door to walk back in, we heard Dominic's voice, soft and steady. For some reason all three of us stopped, realizing that we were intruding on a private moment between the two of them that we weren't supposed to be a part of.

"What I'm saying is that I really love her Mr. Coronado. I know I'm not who you would have chosen for her if you could have really been here with her. I'm not as book smart or as wealthy as that Suarez kid she was seeing before me, but I swear I'm just as driven. I'll make a good life for us, I will.

"Do you remember the day she chose me over him? It was the day after that you'd remember. She still doesn't know I came to see you that day, to ask your permission. I could tell you were worried about her, thinking I'd get her into trouble. I can't say I blame you, before Letty I did some pretty stupid things and made some bad choices. But I promised you then, and I'll promise you now that I'll always do the right thing by her. I'll take care of her and let her take care of me. You smiled when I told you that, do you remember? Like you knew that half of what would make Letty happy in life was to feel needed. She's not like Mia, or your wife, or Letty's grandma in the way she needs to be needed, but deep inside, she wants to feel… necessary. I don't need a lot of things in this world, but Letty's a pretty big necessity for me. I know you're one of the things she needs, so if you can hold on, I'd appreciate it. If you can't do that, I'll make you a deal. I'll be here for her, and tell her how much you loved her and how proud of her you are, if… if you'll tell my mom how much I love her, and tell her I still miss her. And if you could tell her I'm trying to be the man she wanted me to be, that'd be good too." Clearing his throat, Dom wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then continued. "Since you were always one to speak your mind, I'm going to assume you have no objections to our deal Mr. C. You take care of my mom and I'll take care of Letty." Laughing a little, Dom wiped his eyes one last time. "Just ah, don't take too good care of my mom, you got that? I'd hate to get all the way to heaven and then get thrown out for having to kick your ass."

When we were sure Dom was done talking, we entered the room, forcing ourselves to act like we hadn't heard what he'd said. We put the flowers my grandmother had brought into a vase by the bed and opened the curtains to try to make the room brighter. Despite Dom's pep talk, we all knew that today was going to be the last day. Mia and Tony stopped in to say goodbye, as did a few of the other mechanics that my dad had worked with. We called his family in the Dominican Republic so that they could say goodbye to him too. We tried to keep things light, but it was hard. Anytime one of us had to cry, we'd go into the bathroom, just in case my father could hear us. It seemed like someone was always in there.

My father died that Sunday and we buried him on Tuesday. Dom, Tony, Vince and I were four of the pall-bearers. I was surprised when my mom suggested it, but somehow it just seemed right. After the service we had people over to the house for this huge party like my dad had always talked about having after he died. My fashion mogul aunt came, bringing her boyfriend and his band who played all of Papa's favorites from the old country, along with a bunch of standards from PR that he and Mama used to dance to late at night when I was supposed to be in bed. The Torrettos, Vince, and Jesse came. (Adrian was on off looking at schools, making it that much less tense a situation.) Even some of the New Yoricans came- and I'm happy to say they all had less "bounce" than I remembered, which was good since I hadn't been running in almost two weeks by then.

Dom was by my side the entire day and no one said a word about it. Both he and Vince borrowed suits from Tony. Vince looked awkward in his, but Dom looked down right suave. Jesse had borrowed something from Adrian's closet and refused to eat anything at the party so he couldn't spill his food on it. My grandmother ended up chasing him around the house for ten minutes with a full plate of food until he finally caved in- and promptly dropped a piece of chicken on his dress shirt. Thank God for Dom, Jesse and the rest of the team, because if they hadn't been there to make me laugh, I probably would have spent the whole night in tears.

A few hours into the party I was getting cold so I went upstairs to get a sweatshirt, leaving Dom in the backyard with some of my relatives and the rest of the team. It took me a little while to find one that wouldn't give my mom a heart attack, but when I finally returned Dom was no where to be found. I found him in the kitchen with my mother, having what I assumed was a serious discussion because just as I was about to go in to rescue him, my grandmother stopped me.

"Let her say her peace to him mija," Abuela sighed, pulling me back outdoors. "She's held it this long."

"Is this about what he said to Papa?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down.

"Si. What else would it be about? If there was any doubt about what he meant that day, the two of you made it pretty clear today that you're all but married." My grandmother made me another plate of food, loading it up with all of the things she was no longer allowed to eat.

I took the plate without protest, knowing that my being full would hardly be a feasible excuse. "Is she mad?"

"She's just… concerned. She forgets that she was the same age as you are now when she met your papi. She forgets that his mother was married by your age, or that I was married to your abuelo when I was sixteen." My grandmother looked at me and lifted an eyebrow, reminding me of myself. "You do realize that despite all of this, you don't need to make me a great grandmother anytime soon, don't you?"

Nearly choking on the pastales, I nodded my head, unable to speak with my mouth full. Swallowing, I sputtered, "We're not- it's not like that." I turned red under her stare and conceded just a little. "I mean, we- I want to- but, not yet. Tio Tony doesn't approve, he says I'm too young for Dom and Dom agrees, so don't worry, you're not going to be a great-grandmother for a while yet."

"Is that why the two of you have been creeping around like criminals all summer?" My grandmother asked, stealing a bite of my now abandoned food.

"You knew?" Forget Mama having a heart attack, I was going to be joining Papa soon if this didn't end soon.

"I saw him drop you off the night we fought. And you're not as good at hiding those hickeys as you seem to think, especially the ones you don't know you have." She patted my hip bone and winked. "Don't worry Leticia, your abuela was young and in love once. I didn't say anything to your mother because I knew she would worry, even though you were smart enough to fall for Dominic so she doesn't have anything to worry about."

I smiled and looked down at my plate till the blush died down. "We haven't told anyone about us, not really. Tony was afraid that since Dom has such a reputation, that people would get the wrong idea about me if it didn't work out. I hate lying about it. I haven't even told Mia, and even though Jesse's great, it's kind of hard to talk to him about it and Adrian is definitely out of the picture since Dom freaks out every time I so much as nod at him."

"Suarez and Jesse know?" My grandmother laughed. "And Mia doesn't? Oh mija, this is too complicated for an old lady."

"I didn't really tell Adrian, he just figured it out, and then he told Jesse. Tony specifically told us not to tell Mia, so we haven't. Of course, Tony also told us that we weren't allowed to talk to each other directly till I turned 16, and we've still managed that." I hugged my grandmother once again. "I did want to tell you and Mama. So you're not mad, right?"

"As long as you don't get yourself pregnant, I have no complaints. And even that wouldn't be so bad." She tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. "But you shouldn't keep secrets from Mia. She'll be hurt when she finds out."

I look over at Mia who's dancing with Tony and looking as carefree as one can after a funeral. "I know Grams. But that would be asking her to choose between Dom and Tony. You know that would tear her apart. It's only a few more months till my birthday anyway."

"March 3rd, Girls Day. When Mr. Yamamoto told your father about it, your papa went around telling everyone there was a national holiday celebrating your birthday, even if it was in Japan." She laughed, thinking back on how things used to be. "He loved you so much. When the doctors told Anna that the two of them would never have another baby, do you know what your father said?" When I shook my head no, fascinated by this story I had never heard, she continued. "He just shrugged and said it was probably a good thing because he didn't know how another baby could ever live up to his bonita."

It was difficult, but somehow I managed not to break down into tears. It probably helped that both my mother and Dominic walked out of the kitchen and joined us in the back yard just then. Dom looked somewhat grim, but my mother smiled at me, so I knew it couldn't be all that bad. When I gave him a questioning look, Dom looked away somewhat guiltily. Uh oh.

"Don't get mad Letty, I didn't mean to tell her, I swear I didn't, but she's the one who taught you the look, and you know I can't resist the look." Dominic started talking so fast I knew he whatever he told her was something he wasn't supposed to.

"Oh Dominic, what did you do?" I looked from him to my mother in horror, fearing the absolute worst, that he'd told her some private detail of our personal lives.

"Now Leticia, it isn't as bad as that. He just told me about the scholarship offer from the Art Academy. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see if you can transfer in the spring." My mother was still smiling, but I realized that her eyes had this familiar glint of determination. It was the same glint that I would get sometimes.

I reached out and smacked Dom in the back of the head and gave him a look that told him that he was in for more later. "Mama, we can't afford it, not even with the scholarship."

"We most certainly can now. Your father may not have had a very good long term care policy, but he did have a decent life insurance policy, _and _we don't have to pay for the home anymore. We'll have enough for school, maybe even college if you want to go." Turning to my grandmother, she began speaking rapidly in Spanish, making plans for the upcoming year and talking about quitting her second job.

I stared at Dom in shock. "What just happened here?"

"I don't really know, but I get the feeling you're going to be at the Academy come spring term." Dom rubbed the back of his head for moment, then grinned. "You know if you need anyone to pose for you, I bet I could mana- Oooww!" Without warning my mother had slapped him in the same spot I just had.

Not waiting for Dom to quiet down, Mama started scolding him immediately. "Don't even think about it Dominic Antonio Torretto! I may not have changed your diapers, but that doesn't mean I haven't known you long enough to give you a paddling. You will not make inappropriate suggestions to my little girl while in my presence. My husband and I may have given you our blessing, but there are some limits a Catholic mother must make!"

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, both at Dom's shocked face and my mother's speech. "Mama, it would probably be more effective if you lectured at him in English. He may be a master mechanic, but the boy barely passed Spanish Two last year."

"I caught enough to know I should formally withdraw my offer," Dom said dryly, rubbing his head and wincing. "Watch, Mia's going to slap me now for getting you transferred. I better tell her while she's far away so I don't get a concussion or something."

"Why would I smack you Dom?" Mia asked, drawn over by the excitement.

"Dom told my mom about the Art Academy." I sighed and shook my head. "So now it looks like I'm transferring. And apparently I have to think about college or something now too. I don't want to go to college, I want to work in the shop."

"You know the Rhode Island School of Design is connected to Brown, that school that Adrian is looking at right now. Maybe you could follow him out there?" Mia suggested enthusiastically.

"She's not following him anywhere! They're not going out anymore, remember?" Dominic spat out, barely able to control his temper.

"Well she can't wait around for you forever Dom, and all Adrian does is talk about her all the time, just ask Jesse." Mia smirked, obviously enjoying Dom's discomfort.

"Drop it Mia, I mean it." Dom turned nearly purple and glowered at her, then at me when I started laughing at him. "This isn't funny Leticia."

"Aww, Dommy, don't get mad. I didn't get mad at you, did I? Calm down before you blow a gasket or something." I reached out and pulled him to me, giving him a big hug and rubbing his back. He gave me a big squeeze and sighed, burrowing his face into my neck. I could tell he was close to trembling, something he never does in public. Glancing over, I saw Tony watching us, making it my turn to sigh. "You know I love you oh so well," I said softly, before releasing him and continuing in a louder voice for Mia's benefit. "You're such a big over-protective baby sometimes Dominic. _If_ I go to college it will be somewhere close by so you and your pops can give me a nice phat pay check to help pay for books and stuff."

Trying to compose himself, Dom straitened up and cracked his neck, then walked over to Vince who was manning the grill. Mia nudged me and gave me a knowing look, "Nothing going on my ass." I turned to her, my mouth open ready to make some glib denial, but one look at her face made it pretty clear she knew I had been checking out her brother's ass as he walked away. I snapped my mouth shut and turned bright red. I swear, before all this with Dom started, I _never_ blushed. "Good choice, not trying to lie and cover it up again. Unlike my idiot brother, _yo__ hablo Espanol_._"_

"The _yo_ there is redundant chicka," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment. She shot me a look that said she knew exactly what I was doing. "Anyways, your dad would kill us Mia, so lay off, okay? It's hard enough as it is."

"He's only looking out for you both," Mia said softly as she slid her arm around me and gave me a squeeze. "Just try to hold out for what, four more months?"

"You talked about it with him?" I looked at her in surprised.

"Not really. But I know he loves you both, and with Dom's track record… well if and when you do become official, just be careful, alright?" Mia took a sip of the lemonade she'd brought with her.

"You know I won't take any shit from anyone, least of all Dominic," I said trying now to reassure the youngest Torretto. "Maybe he's the one who should be careful. I do have that wicked right upper cut and left cross combo." I grinned and gave my best friend a squeeze. Times like these, when the future's uncertain, it's nice to know people are looking out for you.


	10. The Next Chapter

A/N- If I don't get my visa application done and end up stuck in the states for the next six months because I was busy writing fan fiction- it'll be on YOUR heads!  You're all just lucky I can't figure out which form I need to fill out and the office I need to call isn't open on weekends.

Chapter 10- Paint Me A Picture.

            True to her word, my mom found the money for me not only to start at the Academy, but for the car that I'd need to drive myself there and back everyday once I got my license.  Until then she managed to convince Tony that it would be safer for Dom to drive me than for me to catch the bus there and back.  I don't know how she did it, but all I have to say is the forty minute commute with Dom each way was a hell of a lot more pleasant than a seventy minute bus ride would have been.  Granted Dom wasn't pleased that now instead of waking up at 6 to go for our runs he had to wake up at 5:30 in order for me to get all 5 miles in and get to school on time.  Luckily there were ways for me to make up to him. 

            The classes at the Academy were a hell of a lot more interesting than those at my old school had been.  The English, history and science classes were integrated to give us a "global" perspective on what we were learning- and to make more time for art.  I had less free time during the day, but I was pleasantly surprised to find my new school still had a shop class.  When I was going over the schedule with Dom, he made some crack about even fruit cakes, faeries and dykes needing something to fall back on.  I promptly cancelled our date for the night.  If you want to teach a dog a new trick, you've got to be Pavlovian about it.  Positive behavior gets positive reinforcement.  Stupid comments like that get dogs neutered.    

            Actually, it turned out that Dom wasn't that off the mark.  When I met with my new guidance counselor, Sunny, (the bottle blond daughter of two famous actors from the 70's), she said that the school pushed practical life skills in order to ensure that graduates were self-reliant.  Translation- not everyone was going to be making bank, so we had to learn how to work in one just in case.  Every semester we took the required core curriculum required by the State, plus two or three art classes and two life skills courses. 

More often than not there was some overlap between the art and skills courses so that we could kill two birds with one stone.  For example, there was a mechanical drawing and draft making class, auto design, sign making, silk screening, and web design.  There were also courses like accounting, small business development, entrepreneurship, a business law class, and introductory courses on intellectual property and entertainment law.  I guess on the off chance we did strike it rich, they wanted us to know what we were doing so we wouldn't get fleeced. 

Having topped out in Spanish and fulfilled a lot of my core requirements for the year already, I ended up in that integrated class, mechanical drawing, web design, shop, glass blowing and doing an independent digital photography project.  It was going to be a hard semester, but shop wouldn't be too much of a challenge and I.D.P. was something I could do on my own time, so I wasn't too worried. 

One thing I hadn't counted on though was Dominic becoming so curious about my classes.  Somehow I figured if he had any reaction to the new school, it would be jealousy or distrust.  Before he would always pump Mia or Jesse for information about what I was doing each day and he knew the teachers and shit so he didn't have to worry about other guys hitting on me since he could keep tabs on things.   I thought now he'd worry about me entering this new world and leaving him behind.  Apparently I don't know Dominic as well as I thought I did.

Contrary to my fears, Dom was totally supportive.  Whenever I was snapping pictures with the new camera Mama bough for me for Christmas, Dom would ask me questions.  It was as if he got excited knowing I was excited about something.  And for the first time in my life, that something was school so in some strange way Dom was getting turned on by school.  If it wasn't so freaking hilarious it would be perverse. 

One morning while we were driving to school I asked Dom what his favorite subject in school had been, besides shop that is.  Turns out that he had really liked biology and chemistry.  He'd admitted grudgingly that he almost missed studying them and that half the reason he got Mia subscriptions to U.S. News, Time and Scientific America were so that _he_ could read them. 

"Did you ever think about, I don't know, going to college or something?"  I asked, fascinated by this new side of him.  I watched as he nodded, shifting in his seat while he waited for the light.

"Yeah, but then Vince and I got suspended for some stupid thing.  I remember sitting in the office waiting for Pop to come and pick me up that day and hearing the recruiter for the UC schools telling some girl that as long as she had a decent G.P.A. and hadn't gotten suspended or anything she shouldn't have any trouble…"  Dom's voice trailed off as he looked in the mirror and changed lanes.  "I dunno, I guess I just figured everyone expected me to work for Pop after I graduated and that Mia would be the one to go to school, you know?"  He shrugged and shifted gears.  "It's not a big deal."

Suddenly I had an idea.  "Let's make a deal." 

"What?"  Dom looked at me with curiosity.

"You and me, let's try it out.  We can go part time, or something.  That way we can still work at the shop full time."  I dug thru my bag for a flyer on the upcoming college fair. 

"What are you talking about?"  Dom scratched his head and looked in the mirror again, debating whether or not to change lanes again.

"College.  No one said you have to become a mechanic.  I bet your dad would still love you if you became Dr. Torretto instead.  I know I would."  I pulled the flyer out and read him the important info.  "There's a fair this weekend at my school, on Saturday from 10-3.  No one would think twice if you said you had to drive me."

"You just want to drive that Volvo," Dom teased, but I could see he really was thinking about it.  "You really think I could become a doctor?"  He rubbed his jaw for a moment as he slowed for a red light. 

"You'd be great.  I saw how you were with my dad.  You treated him like a person, even at the end.  And you don't have to work in a huge hospital if you don't want to.  You could work in a neighborhood clinic like half time or something, and still run the garage if that's what you wanted to do." I handed him the flyer with a grin.

His eyes lit up and I could tell he was excited.  "And while I'm at the clinic you could run the shop.  But while I'm there you could be doing whatever it is you art freaks do."

"Artists Dominic, we're artists, not freaks.  That's like calling a mechanic a grease monkey you uncultured swine!" I stuck my tongue out at him briefly before leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.  "But yeah, we could work something like that out."  

"Well, when would I start?  I mean don't I have to take the S.A.T.s or something?"  Dom asked.  "And doesn't medical school take a long time too?" 

"All good things take time, but they're worth the wait."  I rubbed his neck and shoulder gently.  God, I love touching him.

Grabbing my hand he kissed it.  "Like you." 

Six months ago I would have rolled my eyes.  Today I blushed.  "Keep talking like that and you'll be getting a very special birthday present Valentino." 

"Natural Born Lova baby, that's me." Dom winked acknowledging the reputation his birthday gave him.  "By the way, in case Hallmark hasn't made you hate my birthday yet, I was wondering if you'd like to spend it with me."

"You seriously think your father is going to let us spend Valentine's day together?"  I asked incredulously.

"Well maybe not so much together-together as much as have pancakes and shit with me and Mia at the house and watch some movies at the house.  Maybe go watch Pops race.  You know the drill.  But let Mia do the cooking, okay?"  Dom was quick to add in the last part, remembering what had happened the last time I tried to cook at their house.

Forced to defend my reputation, I shook my head with indignation. "Hey, it's not my fault Vince didn't know the difference between teaspoons and tablespoons.  Half that fiasco was his fault!" 

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just suggesting that maybe, you know, since it's my birthday, you might look better on your hands and knees like you did on the last birthday than- oof!  Hey, don't hit the driver!"  Dom laughed as I whacked him.  "Think of it as tradition!" 

"You are _such_ a pig!"  I threw my hands in the air.  "Why God!  Why couldn't you have made me fall in love with Adrian.  _He_ had culture.  _He_ had class." 

"He also drives his father's Camry, empties trash, washes dishes and mops floors for a living."  Dom snorted.  "Real classy." 

"Obviously you think like a man.  Having a guy clean for you is one of the ultimate turn-ons for a woman," I teased.

Never to be out done, Dom tweaked my nose as he pulled into the Academy's parking lot.  "Oh is that right my little grease monkey art freak?"  

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"  I smiled, unable to help myself.

"And you love me for it," Dom laughed, leaning over to kiss me.

"Mmmhm."  I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment.  Sighing, I opened my eyes as he broke the kiss.  "Guess I have to go to school now, huh?"

"Guess so.  Your moms would flip if you cut seeing as she pays all that money for tuition now."  Dom rubbed my lower lip and gave me his lazy smile.  "I'll see you at 3:30?"

"Yup."  I grabbed my bag and got out of the car.  "See you later Dr. T."

"Later Art Freak." 


	11. Running To Stand Still

D/L Chapter 11.  Still Pre FATF- but we're getting there folks- I swear!

            The day of the fair I woke up early to go for a long run alone.  Dom usually didn't come on these with me since he tended to be hung over from partying with Vince the night before.  I tried not to think of who else was at the parties they went to since there was really nothing I could do about it at this point.  I trusted Dom to make the right choices. 

            When I got back from my run, my mom was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee.  "How's my little artist?  I got your progress reports from your teachers in the mail yesterday.  It sounds like you really like this new school Mira; you're making almost all A's.  Your father would be so proud."

            I smiled and wiped the sweat from my head and neck as I opened the fridge to get some orange juice.  "It's better than the Kennedy was," I say as I put some ice in a large glass then fill it to the rim.  I take a big sip, enjoying the chill that shot thru my body.  "I miss having classes with Mia and Jesse though.  I bet Jesse would really like the Academy.  Too bad his dad's a fuck up and his mom took off."

            "Watch your language Leticia." Mama frowned, tsking me the same way my abuela liked to. 

            "Well don't you think it's funny how it's us Latinos who get stereotyped as being all ignorant and ghetto when it's Adrian's white relatives who are in jail?  Tell me you don't see the irony there?"  I put the now empty glass down on the counter and started to stretch. 

            "I do feel sorry for the boy.  Adrian's mother said he has some sort of learning disability. She was so hopeful last semester when the two of you were in so many classes together because it was the first time he didn't get anything lower than a C on his report card.  I guess he's having a harder time this semester.  You know when they found out you were transferring they offered to send Jesse there as well but he wouldn't let them."  My mother went to the fridge to get some more milk for her next cup of coffee.  "At least he got his pride from his Latin side." 

            I snorted.  "And that's supposed to be a good thing? He's shooting himself in the foot.  He hates that place.  Why stay someplace where you're miserable when someone's offering you a way out?" 

            "I'll remind you that you said that one day when your pride gets in your way.  It's easy to judge from the outside Mira, but remember how hard it was for us not so long ago."  My mother smoothed down some of my wild strands of hair, making a face when her hand got all sweaty. "Now hurry up and take a shower, you have a doctor's appointment in an hour."     

            I made a face and moved my head away.  "I'm not sick.  Dominic's supposed to drive me to the college fair later today."

            My mother put her hands on her hips and looked at me.  "Dominic this and Dominic that," my mom pursed her lips, rolled her eyes and did a pretty good impression of me.  "I swear, how I didn't notice you were falling in love with him before November, I'll never know."

            "You were working two jobs," I say dryly as I rinse out my cup and turn it over to dry.

            "Well you're going to the doctor's today Mira and that's final.  The last thing I need now that I'm not working all the time is to hold your hair while you puke."  My mother shot me a knowing look and crossed her arms, indicating the discussion was over.  "Don't think I don't know your birthday is coming up in about three weeks.  You're going on the pill a-s-a-p so you and _Dominic_ don't make a b-a-b-y."

            "MOM!"  I stare at her in shock.  "What would the Pope say?!"

            "The Pope would say that God helps those who help themselves.  We're finally getting our lives on track Leticia, and unless you want to end up one of those stereotypical latinas who gets knocked up in high school, you're going on the pill.  I've seen the way you look at Dom.  I'd be wasting my breath if I told you to wait till he put a ring on your finger." 

            My eyes widened with horror.  "Oh. My. God.  We are not having this conversation.  I'm going to go upstairs now and get ready. If we could not discuss why we're going to the doctor, I'd appreciate it.  There are some conversations we do _not_ need to have."  If I had been horrified by the beginning of the discussion, this last part proved even more embarrassing.  As I ran up the stairs two at a time I heard my mother tell me to be ready to leave in 20 minutes.

            Two hours later my mom and I pulled into our driveway.  Parking next to Dom, my mom didn't bat an eye lash as she got out of the car and gave him a hug, asking him how he was doing as she simultaneously scolded him for being so skinny.  I, on the other hand, couldn't look my man in the eye as I walked into the house without a word.  I know what they say- if you can't talk about protection with your significant other, they aren't significant enough for you to be doing the nasty with.  Yeah, well talking with Dom was one thing.  Working the fact that my mother had taken me to get the Pill into that discussion was another.  So unholy.

            After putting my new round "compact" on my bureau and dry swallowing my first dose, I walked down stairs with my back pack slung over my shoulder and my sunglasses riding low on my face.  I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and leaned up against the wall as I watched Dom make quick work of a burrito.  "Hey," I said, unable to keep a shy grin off my face.

            "Hey baby.  You gotta let your moms and grams teach you how to cook chica. They got mad skills."  Dom rubbed his stomach with one hand as he leaned down and gave my mom a kiss on the top of her head.  "You're the best Mrs. Coronado." 

            "You're just saying that because I didn't let your father castrate you," Moma laughed as she handed him a brown bag.

            "What's in the bag Mama?"  I asked, sliding my arms around Dom and giving him a peck on the cheek.

            Mama waved her hand in the air dismissively.  "Just a little snack for later.  Both of you are too skinny.  Always running or in the garage.  I don't know how the two of you have the energy to sneak around."

            "Seriously Mama, did you wake up this morning and think, gee, how can I best torment and embarrass my daughter today?"  I rolled my eyes when my mother started to lecture me in Spanish about making a good life for myself and not throwing away my life.  "I know, I know.  School first, then everything else.  I got it.  I love you too Mama.  C'mon Dom, let's go."

            As we got into the car, Dom looked at me quizzically.  "Did I hear your mom say something about getting pregnant in there?  I mean I know my Spanish is hella shitty, but I swear she either said something about not getting embarrassed or not getting pregnant."

            Laughing, I ruffled his hair.  "She said both actually.  Good ears." 

            "Does she think we're having sex?  I swear to God Letty, I told her we weren't. I mean, not that I don't want to, but you know, I wanted her to know my intentions were noble."  Dom is talking fast and stealing glances at me as he gets onto the freeway.  He's nervous because he knows I'm still a little irritated that my mom got him to roll over on us so damn fast.

            "Oh no, believe me, she knows we aren't having sex yet.  She does however, know we are planning on it and thus decided to put me on the Pill this morning."  I watch as his eyes go wide. It is amazing how many emotions flash across his face in the few seconds before he replies.

            After struggling to find the right response, Dom settles with, "Wow.  Way to be Mrs. C."

            I snort and change the radio station.  "That's one way to look at it.  Of course, you weren't the one who had to discuss our sex life with the doctor in her presence."

            "Baby, just think of it this way.  Now we get to HAVE a sex life," Dom teased. 

            "Down boy.  We still have three and a half weeks to go.  And you better not be running to Vince afterwards and running your mouth about it either.  You may, however, have the pleasure of breaking it to your father since he's going to be oh so pleased to know we've basically been doing it for the last 8 months."  I ran my hand thru my hair and changed the station again, feeling restless.

            "I don't plan on having a deep discussion about our relationship with either of them." Dom swatted my hand away from the controls.  "I like this song."

            I scrunched up my nose.  "Ugh, you're such a girl.  KC and JoJo?  And I'm the freak?" 

He turned the volume up for a moment, laughing, then turned it back down.  "How long are we going to stay at this thing?"

"I don't know.  I haven't ever really thought about college before."  I yawn and turn down the air conditioning a little.  It's weird how I can be tired and fidgety at the same time.    "How long do you think it will take to look at everything?"

            "Do I look like Suarez?  I don't have a fucking clue how long that shit takes.  How big is the room they have it set up in?"  Dom tried to keep his voice level, but I can tell he's feeling insecure.  This is new ground for him, thinking about going to college.  He gets cranky when he's out of his element.

            "I think they set up in the cafeteria." I sigh and dig thru my bag once again for the flier.  "It looks like there'll be about 40 colleges and universities there, and those Kaplan and Princeton Review type people too."

            "Well we only have to look at the ones in Cali right?  Or did you want to go somewhere else.  What's that school Mia was talking about? That Suarez is looking at out East?"

            "Yeah no thanks.  I hate being cold, you know that.  I'm good with staying close to home.  I'm not paying out of state tuition, that's for damn sure."  Watching Dom drive, I reach for my camera and snap a few pictures of him drumming his fingers on the wheel. 

            Frowning, he looks over at me.  "Why'd you do that?"

            "You looked so stoic, I couldn't help it." Smiling, I brush the hair out of his eyes.  "I love you.  I'm glad you're going with me to this."

            He's blushing which is a rare thing for him to do.  I can tell he's glad I turned the camera off already so that I can't capture that moment as well.  He's silent for a moment before he asks in a small voice if I'll still love him if he doesn't get into college. "Will you still love me if I end up having to run the garage for the rest of my life?" 

            "Dominic…" I stare at him for a moment.  "I fell in love with you the way you are now, and nothings changed since then.  If you decide that you don't want to be a doctor, that's fine with me."

            "But things have changed since we first started this.  You're going to private school, you're making good grades, your thinking about college-"

            I interrupt him before he starts to hyperventilate.  "No, you and my mom are thinking about college.  I don't have to go for me, at least not at this point in my life." 

            "Whatever, college is an option now.  Things have changed- you've changed.  What happens if I can't keep up with you?"  Dom doesn't look at me as he pulls into the parking lot. 

            "You're four years older than I am Dominic.  It should be me asking you that question."  Sighing I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn to look at him.  "You've done things that I haven't.  You go out drinking with Vince, you race with the guys, all these girls throw themselves at you.  I can't compete with that Dom, and I'm not trying to.  When are you going to realize that you don't have to compete with Adrian?" 

            "I didn't think I had to till you got all wet on the idea of me going to college and becoming a doctor," Dom spat out.

            I slapped him. The sound and the force of my palm connecting with his flesh surprised both of us. Neither of us said anything, maybe because we didn't know what to say.  We just sat there, unmoving, staring at each other, not recognizing the person sitting across from us. 

            A car pulled into the spot next to ours and some of my classmates got out and headed toward the gym.  The noise and movement outside broke whatever spell we'd been in and I too got out of the car and followed them in.  I heard the other car door open and shut, and from the corner of my eye I saw that Dom was right behind me. 

            We spent exactly 27 minutes in the cafeteria, neither of us saying a word to each other.  Dom was always exactly two steps behind me, picking up the brochures and free pencils at each booth we visited from Cal Poly to the Army.  A few of my classmates stopped and said hello to me here and there.  I was polite, even friendly a few times, but I didn't introduce Dominic to any of them, nor did he introduce himself. 

            When we finally walked out of the building and back to the car, Dom finally reached out and touched my hand.  I could feel his hesitancy, the unspoken apology.  I slowed my pace just a fraction so that Dom caught up to me.  He slowly turned me so that I was facing him.  My eyes were closed because I couldn't look at him yet.  I didn't want him to see how badly his words had hurt me, how deeply they'd cut. 

            " _Lo__ siento_," he whispered, kissing my forehead gently.  "I didn't mean it, I swear to God I didn't mean it."

            I opened my eyes and searched his face.  I could see his regret, but it wasn't enough.  "Then why did you say it?"  To my utmost humiliation my voice cracked.   "It's like you were trying Dom, you fucking did it on purpose."

            "I- I'm so sorry.  I don't know why I said it."  Dominic's voice was low but desperate.  They might have been intended to be placate me, but it didn't work.  He was lying, and the moment the words left his mouth, he knew I knew it.

            "Just go Dom.  I'll call someone else and get a ride home from them."  I stepped away from him wearily.  "I don't think I want to be near you right now."

            "Letty- don't do this."  Now it was Dom's turn for his voice to crack.

            "I'm not.  You did.  You brought us here Dom.  Not me." I crossed my arms in front of my chest in an effort to shield myself from him somehow.  "I'm tired of just going along for the ride Dom." 

            "Just- just don't call him.  Please Letty.  Anyone but him."  Dom was begging now.  Fuck that nearly broke me.  He doesn't beg for nothing, and certainly not like this.  Maybe he's asked me for things before, and maybe I've called it begging, but it wasn't compared to this. 

            "Why are you so afraid of him Dom?  He's just a boy.  He can't hurt you.  Fuck, he doesn't have to hurt you Dom.  You've done a pretty fucking good job hurting us both by yourself." With that I walked away from Dominic for what would be the first of many times during our relationship.


	12. A Taste of Foregiveness

DL 12

Hitting that fast forward key again. Don't worry this chapter will have a little bit of everything in it. ;-) **_CAUTION- "everything" includes SMUT!_**

P.S.- I want to give credit where credit's due. Don't own FATF etc, was inspired by GirlFight, and the work of a _huge number_ of other fan fiction writiers. Also I lifted some lyrics from a song called "Incredible" by Darius (produced by The Matrix. It's a great song- check it out.)

P.P.S. Dom's driving an Integra for now- I know he actually drives a Mazda, but he's gotta go to Lompoc first.

The day of the college fair was the first time that it crossed my mind that Dominic and I might not make it. Obviously things weren't perfect from the get go, but up until then our problems had been based on circumstance. This was the first time that we'd managed to fuck things up for ourselves.

It scared me how quickly and easily I'd lost my temper and slapped him. I felt so… trashy. In that moment that thin line between love and hate became blurred. I hated Dom for what he did. I hated him more for what I had done. He'd managed to pull a part of me to the surface that I really didn't like. By doubting me he'd managed to make me doubt myself- if only in a different way.

My grandmother would tell you that I am not the most feminine girl out there. I don't wear dresses, I don't like playing with my hair, my nails are always a mess, and I'd rather shop for sounds than shoes. Mia feels at home in the mall and the beauty salon. I feel at home in the garage and at the gym. Compared to Mia, I'm the Incredible Hulk. When I slapped Dom, it was like something inside me snapped. I felt like a fucking animal for resorting to violence, but fuck, words aren't my thing.

I fucking hate when I can't express myself. Maybe that's why I like to draw- you don't need every fucking 'i' dotted, 't' crossed and comma in its place to get your message across. Art may not be universal, but it's pretty fucking close.

Cars are the same way. They either work or they don't. If something's wrong, you can pop the hood or slide under the carriage and _see_ what the problem is. You can use your _hands_ to fix things. Of course the problem here was that I had used my hands to try and fix something that only my words would have been able to. Scratch that- only _his_ words would have been able to. I'm not the one who started the fight.

Or was I? Did I put too much pressure on Dom? Did it really seem like I wanted to be with Adrian? I'm not crazy though, I mean it's been months since I'd broken it off with Adrian and for God's sake we'd only dated for a few weeks. Why was Dom so fucking paranoid. Did he think I was getting some on the side? If anything I should be the one who should be paranoid. Dom goes out with Vince all the time while I'm at his house watching videos with his kid sister. I'm at school all day while he's- shit, this isn't getting me anywhere.

Walking past the caf, I headed toward the pay phones in the quad and tried to think who I'd call. Mama was home, I guess I could call her but it would take her an hour to get here and I feel too fucking restless to sit around for that long. Can't call Vince since I'd have to explain why Dom wasn't driving me back. That put Tony out the picture too. Adrian- calling Adrian was just a bad fucking idea. That meant calling Jesse was out the picture too since it necessitated calling Adrian's. Fuck me, I guess I'm taking the goddamn bus.

Having resigned myself to the poor man's limo, I headed back towards the parking lot. To my surprise Dom was sitting on the hood of his Integra, his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees. Fuck. Fuck fucking fucker fuck. Fucky McFuckerson. There's no way to get to the bus stop without passing him. Guess I'm going to get to feel a little more trashy in about a minute once that big ole scene we're about to have gets started. Whoop-de-fucking-do.

Deciding to take the offensive, I walked right up to him, thinking it was better to start the conversation instead of letting him start it. That way at least I could ask the first question. "What the hell are you still doing here Dominic?"

He jerked his head up and what I saw tore a whimper from my throat. He'd been crying. His face was red and his nose was still running. Oh Jesus Dom, it wasn't as bad as all that, was it? He wiped his nose on his forearm and sucked it up in that oh so attractive way that guys do. Clearing his throat, he pushed his hair out of his face before speaking. I couldn't help but remember that I'd pushed his hair back just an hour before. Just an hour ago things were good.

"Letty, I swear to God I'm so fucking sorry. I just- I get scared. I know you're not like that. I know you don't care about money and shit. Please Letty, just let me take you home." Dom slid off his car and took a few hesitant steps toward me.

"Why, ah, why were you crying Dom?" I swallowed hard and gave in to the impulse to let my hand brush the cheek that I'd reddened earlier. "You don't cry."

"I'm afraid. I fucked things up. I didn't mean to hurt you _Mija_." He put his hand over mine, kissed my palm and then returned it to his cheek.

"I slapped you," I say mournfully. "I didn't mean to. I just- I lost control Dom." I close my eyes and lean into him. It's twisted, but I need to be near him right now to get thru this. I'm not strong enough for this, I think to myself.

"I deserved it," Dom whispers fiercely, wrapping his arms around me.

"No! No one deserves it. I acted like a fucking animal Dom. I'm sorry." I feel the tears explode out of my eyes, feel the sobs shake my body.

"Mija, it wasn't that bad. I provoked you. I shouldn't have said what I did," Dom soothes. "I was wrong. I was afraid. What I meant to say is- You are incredible. You are amazing. You blow my mind, one of a kind. I'm… having a meltdown. Sometimes telling the truth is easier said than done." (_Incredible)_

I look up at him, searching. "Then why, Dom? And don't give me that bull shit about not knowing why you said it, because you do."

He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "This college shit, it's like, maybe I wanna do it, but, I'm afraid. I was pissed at you because you just thought it would happen for us. You were just so sure."

I draw back from him slowly, not believing what I'm hearing. "You're mad because I had faith in you? You basically called me a whore because I thought you could do anything you put your mind to?"

Dom runs his hands thru hid curly dark hair. "It's a lot of pressure mira. You put me on this pedestal. I don't belong up there. What happens when I let you down? Are you going to still think of me as a man when I bomb the SATs and it turns out I have to work for my old man forever?"

"Working for Tony was what I was planning on doing with the rest of my life. It's good enough for me but not for you?" My voice isn't angry or accusatory, but questioning. I just don't get what it is he's trying to say. Maybe I should tell him that. "What do you mean Dom? You're confusing the hell out of me."

"I'm just chicken shit. I lashed out at you because I was afraid and I guess I blamed you for making me feel that way." It was brutal, but it was the truth.

"I see." I rub my forehead with the base of my palm, trying to put all of this together. "If I put too much pressure on you then I'm sorry. If I made you feel insecure, then I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I slapped you. But I'm not sorry that I have faith in you. I know the kind of person you can be Dominic. I know what you're capable of and the only way I'll ever think less of you is if you pull some fucking stunt like you just did again instead of actually trying to live up to your potential.

"I thought relationships were supposed to help the people in them improve themselves and shit. Pulling shit like that Dom, it fucking lowers the bar for both of us. I may be newer at this than you are, but fuck, even I know that much." I sigh and shake my head in frustration.

Dom is watching me quietly, still struggling to compose himself. "So are you going to break up with me now?"

I sigh again and shrug slowly. "Is that what you want me to do?" Without consulting me first, my hand reaches up and brushes Dom's hair out of his face once again. "You think we should?"

"I don't want to loose you Letty." I can tell Dom's heart is racing. I can see his pulse; the vein in his neck is twitching so fast you'd think he was sprinting. "I know it's messed up, but that's why I said what I did. I don't want things to change between us."

"They're going to change Dominic. I can't stop them from changing and neither can you. If things didn't change we wouldn't even be here right now. You'd be with some bottle blond bimbo and I'd be chilling at the garage trying to get your dad to teach me something." I stroke his face slowly before wrapping my arms around him.

Giving me a gentle squeeze, Dom kisses the top of my head and rubs my back slowly. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No. But the next time I have trouble getting the right words out and fuck up like this, you better remember that I forgave you and forgive me too. And I better get the benefit of the doubt since English isn't my native language." I lean my head back and give him a light kiss on the lips.

"That's bull shit. You speak perfect English." Dom smiled, relieved that we were talking about something else.

I scrunched my face up and grimaced. "I don't know about that. Sometimes I still struggle to find the right word. And my vocabulary isn't that big."

Dom gave me a light squeeze, his smile changing from relieved to playful. "As long as it includes the words 'I love you Dom,' 'Keep going Dominic,' and 'It's going to be okay Dom,' it's plenty big for me."

"Unhuh. That's rather convenient. I noticed you don't care if words like, 'Not tonight', and 'It's over already?' are in there," I laughed as he nuzzled my neck.

"Brat!" Dom growled, blowing a raspberry. "I was trying to be romantic and show you I learned my lesson. Why you gotta make everything about the bootie huh?"

I pulled out from his embrace and smiled sweetly as I walked over to the passenger side door. "I guess that means you're not interested in make up nookie huh? It's a shame because we don't have to be back at the garage for another hour and a half."

Virtually running to the car, Dom slid behind the wheel and had the car in reverse before he finished asking, "Where do you want to go?"

Laughing, I snapped my seat belt on. "Mia's at the store, your dad's at the pit. Let's go back to your place _mi corazon._"

With a huge grin on his face, Dom managed to get us back to the house in record time. The ride itself was a huge rush; Tony had obviously taught Dom everything he knew about driving. Pulling in to the driveway, Dom simultaneously released both of our seat belts and stole a quick kiss before cocking his head toward the house in lieu of a spoken invitation.

"You gonna make me fall in love with you all over again Dominic?" I teased as I stepped out of the car.

Meeting me at the front of the car, he took my hand in his and stroked the back of it with his thumb. "Depends. You gonna stick by me if I do?"

I nodded, blushing slightly under the heat of his gaze. "_Para__ Siempre._"

Rubbing my bottom lip with his thumb, Dom growled his approval before stealing yet another kiss. The one in the car had been short and sweet, but this one was long, hot, and filled with unspoken promise. His hand teased lightly at the bottom of my tank top, his fingers inching up under the hem of it, caressing my skin in concentric circles, making me moan.

He pulled away so slowly that I didn't realize at first that I was leaning into him, trying to keep our lips connected. He chuckled as he unlocked the door of the house. "Come on," he said softly as he led me in before shutting and relocking the door behind us.

We walked hand in hand up the stairs, neither of us speaking. When we got to the door of his room, Dom stopped me before I could open it. Taking my face in both of his hands he looked down into my eyes and I swear that for a moment it was like he was looking into my soul while I looked into his.

"I love you," he said in that deep voice of his that makes my insides flutter and fills the once quiet hallway. He presses me up against the center of the door, leaning down so that I can kiss him and show him that I love him too.

I keep the kiss light at first, licking his lips slowly and smiling when I realize they taste like my lip gloss. My arms snake up around his neck and my hands burry themselves in his dark hair. Sucking on his lower lip, I purr when I feel him rub his growing erection against me. Whimpering I ask, "Can we go inside now Papi?"

With a single word Dominic makes me shiver. "_Si_."

I pull my hair from his hair and reach down and twist the door knob. Dom's hands are on my hips, drawing me close to him as I walk in. He flips the lights on and kicks the door closed behind us.

Placing his hands back on my sides, he slowly pushes them up, taking my tank top with them. Kissing my neck, Dom asks me once again if I trust him. This is our ritual; his words and my reply are part of our foreplay. He knows he doesn't have to ask, but I know that it's his way of making sure I know when he wants to step things up.

"I trust you Dominic. I love you," I gasp as lays me gently on the bed, kissing my now bare stomach. I reach for him, needing to touch him. It's my turn now to tug at his shirt, to ask him if he trusts me. "Please Dominic?" My need makes my voice raw and low.

"Mmm, _mija_." Dom tears his lips from my torso so that he can sit up and pull his shirt off. "I love how you taste." Tossing his shirt aside, he covers my body with his, grinding his now fully hard aroused cock against me. His lips sear mine, taking possession of my entire being.

I slip my hand behind my back and unhook my bra, no easy task while under Dom's sensual assault, not to mention body weight. I hear Dom's breathing kick it up another notch when he realizes that there's nothing between us from the waist up. He breaks the kiss, making me moan first in loss and then in pleasure as he takes my right nipple in his mouth and teases it with his tongue and teeth.

"Fuck Dom, don't stop," I cry out, arching up into him. I need to be closer to him. I reach down and fumble with his belt, eager to get him out of his jeans. As soon as his pants are undone, I start to push them down with my hands. When I don't have much success, I reluctantly tug on Dom's hair, trying to pull him up for air just long enough for him to help me get him naked.

Without taking his lips off of my skin, Dom somehow managed to kick off both his pants and his boxers then help me shimmy out of my low rise khaki cargoes. I felt him hesitate when his hand brushed over my panties. To be honest, part of me hesitated then as well.

Dom lifted his head and rolled us over so that we were side by side. "What do you want to do?" he asked, his eyes burning me. He was completely still, his only movements being his breathing.

"We've done this before," I say softly sidestepping the issue just slightly.

Dom let out a slow breath, tilting his head just enough that I knew he knew I wasn't sure yet. "Who are you trying to convince Let, yourself or me?" He kissed my nose softly. "You don't have to take them off baby." Pressing his forehead against mine, he took a few deep breaths before continuing. "It's probably better that you don't anyway. It's only a few more weeks before your birthday. We should wait till then."

I smile and kiss him shyly. "I'm sorry Dominic. It's just- usually they just _come _off in the middle of whatever. We just sort of jumped into it today."

He put his lips on mine, cutting me off. "Don't be sorry. You're already sharing so much with me."

Dominic's gentle touches slowly grew more eager, as did my own. We rarely had the freedom to explore each other like this in the privacy of his bedroom. I loved being able to touch him, hear him moan, feel him shiver when I stroked him.

Not that he was the only one making noise. Dom knew exactly where to touch me and how. Before long my body was dripping wet and covered in sweat. "Dom," I panted as he rolled on top of me. "Please Papi, I'm close."

Groaning, Dom took my left hand off of his shaft and pinned both of them above my head. "Me too," he gasped.

"Then let me-" I started to plead before he cut me off.

"Mami if you do I'll spill all over you," Dom argued, holding me still as I struggled under him.

"I want you to," I said as I looked straight into his eyes. "I want to see you cum for me Papi." I smiled up at him thru hooded eyes, my nose flaring just a little when he rocked against the most private part of me. He swallowed twice and then nodded, loosening his grip just enough for me to pull away.

Before he could change his mind I pushed him down onto his back and kneeled between his legs. "I'm going to taste you first," I said softly as I stroked his swollen cajones.

"_Mira_ no, I'm not wearing a condom. What if I cum-" his own moan cut off his protests as I slowly took the head of his shaft into my mouth, staring into his eyes the whole time. At three fingers wide and nearly ten inches long, I couldn't fit much of him in, but by the way he gripped my hair, I don't think Dom had any complaints. I smiled as I watched his eyes roll back and his eyelids flutter as I bobbed up and down slowly, using my tongue to stroke him. Remembering something that I'd overheard Vince saying once, I started to hum, which made Dom groan my name over and over again.

Knowing that Dom wouldn't let me do this again if I made him cum in my mouth, I reluctantly pulled him out, making sure to use the time to torture him ever so sensually. "Did you like that Dominic?"

"Goddamn Letty, you're trying to fucking kill me, aren't you?" Dom said affectionately. "Another minute of that and I would have lost it completely."

"Mmm, maybe I'll keep that in mind for next time," I teased as I started to pump him. "Show me how Dominic," I said as I reached for his hand and brought it down over mine. "Teach me how you like it."

Dom nodded shakily and bit his lip. Unable to speak, he took my hands in his and taught me the rhythm and grip that he liked best. When I planted a kiss at his base he tensed up and thrust his hips up. With his free hand he pushed my head away roughly before giving in and starting to spurt hot white threads of cum.

Bent over him, I watched in fascination as the sticky fluid emerged. Despite how close we'd gotten over the last few months, I'd never had an occasion to actually see this. Knowing I could make him loose control like this gave me such a rush that I had to close my own eyes and swallow down a moan.

With my eyes still closed I felt Dom stroke my face gently, and heard him whisper thank you which made me smile. I nodded and kissed his palm, opening my eyes as he pulled me up for a brief kiss before he reached under his bed for a box of tissues- and to my surprise baby wipes. I gave him a questioning look as I pursed my lips and tried not to laugh.

"What, it gets sticky. Plus these are a good reminder as to why I shouldn't just let you have your wicked way with me." Dom gently wiped my hands and the spot on my chest where he'd gotten me before wiping himself off.

After throwing away the used tissues and wipes, he lay down next to me and smiled shyly. His fingers stroking my belly up and down, he looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Letty… you know how you could get pregnant if one of my guys got to talking with your girls even if we don't have sex?" Dom asked softly, obviously setting the scene for another question.

"You mean if I get some of your cum in me? Yeah, I know. But you just took care of that." I frowned, not sure where he was going with this.

"Mmmhm, but don't you think we should be careful?" Dom asked, kissing my collar bone and trailing his tongue up my neck.

"Ye yeah…" I nodded, my heart pounding so loudly now that I couldn't really formulate a coherent reply.

Fondling my right breast with the perfect amount of pressure to make me eager, he continued. "But it's only fair that you get to cum too right?"

"Nngnnhn." I nodded, reaching for his hips, only to find he was purposefully staying as far away from me as he could. "What Dom, just ask already so you can shut up and start kissing me."

Laughing at my pain, Dom nibbled on my upper lip, finding yet another way to touch me just enough to make me crazy. "I want to taste you now," he growled.

"You are," I gasped, trying to get another kiss. "Of course you can taste me," I whimpered.

"No _mami_," he growled, taking my hand and putting it between us. "I want a _real_ taste."

"_Dom_!" I cried out as he used my fingers to stroke me erotically. "Just… Please… Yes. Please." I arched up, trying to get more contact, wanting to feel his fingers on me.

Stroking my face once again, he tilted it so that I was looking into his eyes once again. "Do you want me to leave these on?" he asked, his fingers twisting the edge of my now very damp panties.

Scratching his back with my fingernails, I shook my head rapidly. "I just want you to touch me. Me." I placed both of his hands on my hips, lifting them into the air just enough so that we could push the simple white cotton down. "I trust you Dom."

Smiling, Dom kissed my lips, my chin, my collar bone and a thousand other bits of skin as he worked his way down. Between his kisses I could hear Dom softly whispering that he loved me. When he was finally between my legs, Dom teased me by running his tongue over my entrance slow and steady.

"Fuck Dom, please. Just- Please," I begged, burying my hands in his hair and trying to push his face down. I _told you_ I have a limited vocabulary.

"Mmm, you taste sooo fine _mija_," Dom crooned as he breathed in my sent. "I'll never get enough."

I can't tell you what happened during the next seven and a half minutes. I'd love to, but frankly it's all a blur. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of begging on my part, a lot more teasing on Dom's, and a lot of loud ass moans filling the room. When my heart finally slowed enough to allow for conscious thought, I was curled up in Dom's arms, splayed over him.

"Dominic if you didn't think I loved you before this, then you can be damn sure I love you now." My fingers trailed a slow design on his belly. "Why haven't we done that sooner?"

"Because you're a fucking feral cat Letty," Dom teased, tugging on my hair playfully. "When we had the time, we didn't have the space. When we had the space, we didn't have the privacy. Girl you were so wild and loud that I swear I have whip lash _and _my ears are still ringing."

"Shut up, you loved it." Blushing, I buried my head in his chest.

"You _know,"_ he said in his best gangsta voice. I could tell he was feeling pretty pleased with himself. "Maybe we should fight more often. Makes the make-up nookie that much better. I like the taste of earning your foregiveness." He kissed my forehead and rubbed my back making me purr. "It's amazing, watching you lose it like that," he said as he stroked my hair gently this time.

"Yeah?" I asked stretching sleepily.

"Yeah. You're always so controlled, contained behind these glass walls. I can see right thru them, help you shatter them, but the rest of the bustas out there, they don't even know the walls are there."

"I don't mean to keep you out Dominic," I say softly.

"I know." Dom gives me a soft swat and rolls me off him. "I'm going to take a shower before we head to work. You want to join me? We could work on keeping you… open to me."

"Whatever big head. You better get in that shower pronto cause you dirty." I shake my head as I sit up. I like watching him walk around naked. His body is so firm and tight I bet you could bounce a quarter off his ass and abs.

"Hey I see you looking at me," Dom chides as he grabs the towel hanging over his chair. "C'mon," he says extending his hand to me.

I glance at the clock and wince. "Can't Papi, we're running late. If I get in the shower with you, you know we're going to play some more. We don't have the time." Slowly I stand up on the other side of the bed and stretch once again.

I can't help but giggle when Dom lets out a low appreciative whistle. "Damn gurrl, you cruel." Pretending to pout Dom whips his towel at me and opens the door. "Wash up in Mia's bathroom then and I'll meet you downstairs, 'kay?"

"You got it Dom," I say waving him off as I look around for the various pieces of clothing I shed earlier.

Finding them all took about five minutes, which meant I didn't get to take my time in the shower and didn't have time to wash my hair. Drying off quickly I buttoned up my jeans and put my hair up in a tight bun so it wouldn't get in my way at the garage. Checking quickly for hickeys, I was relieved to see that Dom hadn't left any this time. For my part I didn't mind getting them, but they would have been hard to explain to Vince or Tony.

I thought about how strangely this day had gone. Things between Dom and I were getting more complicated, which I guess was a sign that they were also getting more real. Today was February 7th. Dom's birthday was in a week and mine was in about 3 weeks. Walking down stairs I found Dom waiting for me on the couch.

"Took you long enough," Dom said when he saw me.

"So sorry. Thought you were used to waiting," I whispered as I gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. "Let's go buddy."

"Why you gotta make everything about sex?" Dom sighed, grabbing his keys.

Opening the front door I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled evilly. "Don't know. Just got a gift for it I guess."

Fade out- End Chapter 12.


	13. Happy Birthday Dominic

D/L Ch 13. 

Still trying to work up to Lompoc.  I mention a couple of movies that I think came out right before FATF did, but frankly, it's been a while and I'm just guesstimating.

It's been a while since I mentioned it but:

1) Don't own them; Don't sue!

2) Thanks for all the reviews, keep 'em coming and I'll keep the chapters coming.  I know where I want to go with this- it's just taking a lot longer to get there than I had hoped.  I'm verbose, what can I say?

It's hard to talk about the year I was 16 for a lot of reasons.  In many ways it was the most perfect year of my life.  Until recently it was also the worst, but the shit that's gone down recently proves that I was wrong about that. With any luck maybe the best is yet to come too.  Somehow I doubt it.  Today, when I close my eyes, I don't see two pairs of footprints side by side.  I don't see one set strong and steady.  When I close my eyes today my heart races and I want to cry because I don't see any footprints at all. I don't see anything.

The thing about 16 is that I didn't see it coming.  I was blindsided by both the good and the bad.  In the weeks leading up to my birthday Dom and I laid off the luvin.  We knew full well that even combined, our will power was starting to wane.  Dom was really sweet about it.  We spent the next three Wednesdays at Barnes & Nobles of all places.  We'd spend about an hour flipping thru the latest car mags and then another hour or so reading up on colleges, the S.A.T.s and all that.  It sounds dorky, especially for grease monkeys like us, but somehow… it just clicked, you know? 

On Valentines day, Mia and I made Dom pancakes.  Mia got him a gift certificate for time at the track, and Tony got him a full set of Craftsman tools for the garage- both of which sent him over the moon.  My gifts weren't as extravagant, but I put a lot of thought into them. 

"I kind of wish I'd gone first now," I said, biting my lower lip as I pushed the small pile of simply wrapped gifts toward him as Tony and Mia watched. 

Dom took the gifts with one hand and messed with my hair with the other in a brotherly fashion.  "You let Mia do most of the cooking.  That in and self was a precious gift." 

"You only _think_ I cooked.  Actually Letty made the batter.  All I did was pour and flip," Mia said mischievously.

"Really?  These are actually pretty good Letty, I'm impressed," Tony said as he grabbed another stack of them.

"It's no big deal, but thanks," I say bashfully, watching Dom open his birthday card and find the subscription to his favorite magazine inside. 

"Sweet, thanks Letty." Dom grinned as he moved on to the next package.  "It's squishy," he said, scrunching it before he started to unwrap it.  "Are these- no way.  That's hilarious."  Dom held up the set of surgical scrubs I got from the UCLA book store. 

"Um, did I miss something?" Mia asked. 

I saw Dominic hesitate and could tell he was reluctant to share the idea we'd been kicking around for the last few weeks.  I squeezed his thigh under the table and jumped in to save him.  "You know that song Scrub, by TLC?  Who do you think they were talking about?"  I tilt my head toward Dom and arch a brow. 

"Keep that up and see if I teach you how to drive."  Dom snorted, stealing the last pancake off the plate.  "She doesn't have her   license and I'm the scrub?! It's my birthday; you're supposed to be nice to me.  "

"I can't help it, it's just so fucking _easy_," I tease sticking my tongue out at him.  "Eouch!  What was that for?"  I ask Mia who had just slapped my hand with the spatula.

"No swearing at the table!"  she scolded, shaking the spatula at me with disapproval.

"Stop it, both of you.  Dom, lets see what else Letty got you," Tony said as he started to clear the table. 

Dom started to rip the wrapping paper off the last item, which made me grab his hands and forcibly stop him.  "Careful!"  I yelped, wincing.  "Just- careful, okay?"

Nodding, Dom gave me a meek and bashful smile. "Sorry.  Got carried away."   Gently undoing the tape, Dom pulled the present I had spent the most time and least money on.  It was a charcoal portrait of the three of them hugging after Dom's graduation.  Even though I hadn't had a camera that day, somehow the moment had been perfectly preserved in my mind's eye.  The three of them had looked so… perfect, so happy.  I'd felt privileged to be a part of their world.  When I tried to reproduce that moment on paper, I'd struggled for hours to make sure I got everything right. 

Dom stared down at the thick white paper, not making a sound.  I watched as his eyes scanned the page over and again.  He didn't move or respond in any way when first Mia, then Tony asked what I'd given him.  Even the sound of their chairs scraping as they got up and walked behind him to see what it was that had captured his attention didn't break his concentration.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and began chewing on my left thumb nervously.  An easy minute and a half had passed since Dom had first set eyes on the picture and he hadn't said a word yet.  The tension was beginning to get to me.  If he wasn't going to say anything then I would. 

"What do you think?"  I tried not to let my raw vulnerability parade itself in my voice, but I felt more naked and exposed than I have ever felt in Dom's presence. 

"You did this?" Dom asked, his eyes not leaving the page. 

"Yeah.  If you don't like it I can-"

"No!  I like it, I like it."  Dom's head jerked up and he stared at me as if he was seeing me, I mean really, really seeing me, for the first time.  "It's amazing.  How- did you take a picture or something?"

I shook my head slowly.  "I just tried to draw what I remembered.  I had some free time at the store so I sketched it out till I knew exactly how I wanted it to look before I tried it in charcoal." 

"Wait, you haven't worked at the store since November.  You've been working on this since November?"  Mia cocked her head and looked at me as she leaned over Dom's shoulder to get a better look.

"Uh, actually on and off since um, I don't know, maybe July?  I didn't know that I was going to be for Dom at first.  I thought maybe you'd like it Uncle Tony, but there's no way I could have finished by October.  I didn't get it done till a couple of weeks ago.    I took a month off too, when my dad… I like charcoal, but it can be a bitch to work with.  I didn't have the patience."  I fidgeted in my chair, uncomfortable with being the center of their collective attention. 

"Hey," Dom said, reaching out and touching my hand.  "I love it.  It's amazing.  Thank you."  He put his hand under my chin and pulled me toward him.  He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on my lips.  It wasn't anything sexy, no tongue or anything, but it was a little too long and a little too sensual to be platonic.  

When he broke the kiss I realized that my eyes had closed and that I was still leaning forward in my chair.  Blushing, I leaned back and pulled my knees up again.  "You're welcome," I said softly.  "I'm glad you like it." 

"It really is amazing Letty,"  Mia said as she cleared the dishes.  "Don't you think so Daddy?" 

"It's great.  I'm really impressed Letty," Tony said as he helped Mia clear the dishes.  "In fact, I think between you and Mia, the two of you have already outdone yourselves gift-wise.  Why don't the three of you take the day off and go watch a movie together huh?  My treat.  I'll do the dishes." 

"But I thought you needed us at the garage today?"  I ask, surprised.

"It's nothing the boys and I can't handle."  Tony dries his hands on a dish cloth before giving me a shoulder rub.  "You kids work too hard.  Take the day off, I mean it.  You'll be out in the real world before you know it, and believe me, it's over rated.  Besides, don't you three usually celebrate birthdays with a movie?" 

"Ohh! We can see Love and Basketball!"  Mia exclaims, grabbing the paper so she can check for show times and locations. 

"Oh hell no!  I want to see something that has cars exploding in it, or nuclear war heads.  Something with a little testosterone.  It's my birthday, I get to choose the movie!" Dom yelled over his shoulder at Mia as he carried he ran upstairs to put away some of his gifts.

Mia's and Dom's excitement was contagious.  I can't help but grin at Tony and nod my head in time with the music on the radio.  "Thanks T." 

"No prob 'L'," Tony laughs, nudging my shoulder.  "Course don't get used to all this special treatment.  I don't want to hear that you took the day off from school on your birthday.  It's one thing not to go into work on a Saturday, but school is another story all together." 

"Don't worry, I know.  Mama would tan me something good if I cut school. It's still surreal that of the three of us, I'm the one at private school," I tell him as I help clear the last of the dishes and put the syrup in the fridge.

"You know she's making all A's Pops?"  Dom bragged, walking back into the kitchen and throwing away the used wrapping paper. 

"I heard.  Your grandmother was bragging about it at the store the other day," Tony said over his shoulder.

"Mmm, I can't take full credit for it.  Jesse's been helping me with the science aspect of my integrated class and Mia helped me with my paper for that class too.  Those other classes, they're just fun."  I sit down next to Mia at the table and shrug.  "It's no big deal." 

"It is a big deal," Dom argues, sitting on my other side.  "It's not easy to get straight A's.  You should be proud of yourself." 

"I'm not even getting straight A's this quarter," Mia interjected.  "At this rate you're going to be the first one of us to go to college Letty." 

Rolling my eyes, I broke a grape off of the bunch sitting in the middle of the table and threw it at Mia's head.  "Quit playing Mi, you know you're the one who's going to go first.  You better go since I had to ring groceries for a semester so you could run around in short shorts Ms. All-State."

"If you'd get your head out from under a car long enough to compete, you do realize you'd be All-State too." Mia caught the grape and threw it back at me. "Dom told me how far and fast you run each morning.  He said you made it to the beach in an hour once last fall.  That's almost 12 miles!  You'd have to run under a 6 minute mile the whole way." 

"It's just under 12 miles from my house and it took me over an hour.  But it's nice to see that Dom has a big freaking mouth," I complain, grabbing another grape and beaming him with it. 

"Don't shoot the messenger!"  Dom yelps, throwing his hands in the air in 'fear.' 

"Come to think about it, I haven't kicked your ass for the last time you opened your mouth when you weren't supposed to," I chide, shaking my finger at him.

"When?!  What did I say?"  Dom looks at me, genuinely confused.

"You told my mom about the scholarship after I specifically told you not to!"  I cross my arms and drum my fingers on my left arm. 

"Hold up, that worked out for the best.  Weren't we just talking about how you turned into this over-achiever because of it?"  Dom leans back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.  He's relaxed now that he thinks I'm joking.

"Come on Let, that was like, three months ago," Mia argues in defense of Dom.  "You gotta cut him some slack.  The statute of limitations on that one might have expired already." 

"Egh. Wrong. I told him he was going to get it later.  He's just lucky I found out he cracked at my father's funeral.  Couldn't go and kill him at a funeral, could I?"  I launch two more grapes, one at each of them.

"She's right you know," Tony laughs.  "Dom, I think you should let Letty choose the movie today since your big mouth made it so she couldn't choose what school she went to."

I could tell Dom was worried he'd end up seeing a chick flick today, because he tried to weasel out of Tony's pronouncement.  "But Pop, it's not like I didn't suffer too when she got transferred!  I'm the one who has to drive her punk ass to school and back every morning!" 

"I'm not stupid boy.  Everyone in this room knows you'd drive Letty to school in San Francisco and back every day if she asked you to," Tony said dryly, acknowledging, to some extent at least, what Dom and I had for the first time since he walked in on us almost 10 months ago.

Dom turned first white, then red, then purple and spent a good twenty seconds sputtering before Mia and I just looked at each other and cracked up laughing. 

"You're so busted Dom!" Mia laughs.   

"I just don't want her to miss this opportunity," Dom sniffed, choosing not to admit that he was whipped.  He was so cute when he let that Torretto pride make him act all brisk when he was really just a softy.

"Well I'm not going to miss this opportunity to choose the movie," I tease, pulling the paper out of Mia's hand and searching the listings.  "How about Blade?" 

"That Steven Dorff is hot, I'm down for that one," Mia nodded her approval.

Taking another grape, this time to eat, I tease Mia. "You like them white boys, don't you?" 

"Like Dom is so tan!"  Mia teases right back. 

When I start to turn red, it's Dom's turn to laugh at me.  "Who's busted now shorty?" 


	14. Family Fun at the Breakfast Feast

Don't Own Them- Don't Sue!

**Family Fun at the Breakfast Feast**

Today's the day. It's finally here, March 3rd. All week long Dom's been threatening to sneak into my bedroom sometime after midnight to help me 'celebrate.' Tempting, but we both knew the thin walls in my house made that particular present out of reach.

What Dom did instead was pretty damn memorable. Both he and Tony had been teaching me how to drive over the three weeks between Dom's birthday and my own. Luckily it came naturally to me, so by my birthday I was eager to take the road test and get my license; I wasn't sure how I was going to make it thru the entire day at school. Thankfully I didn't have to. Dom had somehow managed to convince Mama to let me skip!

When I woke up at 5:30 to get my run in, I found Dom sitting on my desk. "I love watching you sleep mija," he said softly as he watched me stretch. "You're so damn beautiful, it makes my heart hurt."

"Dom, what are you doing here?" It's still dark so he can't see the blush his words elicit. I push the covers back slowly and step out of bed and toward him. Giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, I smile into the nape of his neck as he scratches my back slowly. "Not that I'm complaining."

Dom stole a kiss on the lips before pushing me toward the bathroom. "I just wanted to see you is all. Get ready for our run, we're on a tight schedule today."

"What, so I can hurry up and wait all day till 2:30? No thank you. Let's skip the run and go to the garage Papi." I flipped the light on in my bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I splashed water on my face, and took a swig of Listerine.

"We'll get to the nookie later, don't worry. But I don't want to wear you out just yet. We's be skipping school today mira." Dom leaned against the door, still speaking quietly so as not to wake the house. "Got official permission from _the_ Mamasita."

Surprise made me spray the mouthwash out into the sink. "You're shitting me."

"I'm for real dawg. Now hurry up so we can get our run on, we got a lot of shit to do today. Abuela said we have to be ready for breakfast and in our seats by 7 or she's going to put a curse on us," Dom drawled as he walked behind me and wrapped his arms around me while I brushed my teeth.

Since we got together I've started to sleep in old pairs of his boxers and his undershirts because I like being able to smell him when I'm drifting off to sleep. In the dim morning light, dressed as I was, it looked like we'd spent the night together. Finishing up, I spit and rinsed before I turned in his arms and laid a big one on him. "I love you Dominic," I purred.

Dom was careful not to get carried away; I guess he was serious about being on a schedule. "I love you more. Have I told you how incredible you are recently?"

"Everyday since your birthday Papi," I tease, stroking his cheek. He's clean shaven right now, but I know he's been thinking about growing a goatee of some sort. The only reason he's hesitant to do it though is because he thinks it'll make him look older. Ordinarily 20 year old guys are down with that, but when you've got a girlfriend who's a sophomore in high school…

"I put the picture up in my locker at work," Dom says, kissing my nose. "It makes me work hard so I can save up the stash for you to draw my next graduation picture. You inspire me. I want to make you proud of me."

"I'm already proud of you Dominic. You're like… gravity. Everybody is drawn to you. That's not something you can learn Dom. You're so much better with people than I am. You're the one who inspires me." I squeeze him tight and lay my head against his chest.

"How 'bout we say the feeling's mutual and go for that run now? Shit, if we don't get a move on it I'm gunna wanna get a move on it." Dom gave me a sly grin and wiggled his eye brows as his hands slid down to my ass, copping a feel.

We did four miles that morning before coming back to mi casa for abuela's famous five course breakfast. My abuelo used to work the swing shift and get home from work at seven in the morning so abuela would cook a little breakfast food for the kids and dinner for him at the same time. When we walked in the door we were greeted by the sound of sizzling sausage and bacon, a huge plate of Spanish rice, and the sight of abuela putting the finishing touches on her famous "left overs" omelet which had a little bit of every thing she could find in the fridge that tasted good with salsa. My mother had sliced up at least seven kinds of fruit and was tossing it in a bowl while my Tia Maria was making fried potato hash.

"Somebody tell me you all are teaching my girl how to cook for her birthday, right?" Dom said rubbing his hands together expectantly as we took our shoes off.

"Buenos dias to you too Dominic," Maria said archly as she put a finished plate on the table. "You know that traditionally it was the men in our family who did the cooking on their woman's birthday. I still remember when Eduardo made you French toast the year Letty was born Sonja. _That _was a disaster!"

"What happened?" I asked, kissing each of the women on the cheek before grabbing myself that tall O.J. on ice. I glanced at Dom to see if he wanted one too. He shook his head no and winked at me as he stole part of some hash off the plate.

"He burned down your grandmother Leticia's kitchen is what happened. He forgot to turn the gas burner off and somehow something caught on fire. It was more than a little embarrassing, especially since I wasn't exactly dressed for church when the fire department arrived," my mom laughed as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Oh man, too much information," I groaned. Noticing that there were only four seats at the table, I decided to politely make sure that the rest of my family had a place to sit and took a seat on Dom's lap.

"Mmm. Good thing I already know how to cook pancakes, huh mija?" Dom whispered in my ear. He took a sip of my juice and winced. "How can you drink it so cold?"

"Wimp," I teased, playing with the ends of his sweaty hair at the nape of his neck. "What are we doing today? I wanna know why we're on such a tight schedule."

Stroking my leg, Dom placed a series of small kisses on my neck before answering. "Well, we have breakfast with these fine ladies. Then after a quick shower-"

"Quick SEPARATE showers," Mama interjected. "Dominic at his house and you upstairs in your shower."

"When did you turn into such a prude?" Maria laughed as she brought over plate full of food. Maria gave us a bemused look that let us know she knew we were up to no good and cleared her throat. "Dominic, be a gentleman and help set the table please."

Blushing like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Dom nodded and slid out from under me. "Sit down Mrs. Coronado, Abuela Lopez, I'll take care of the rest."

"While you tell me about the schedule," I reminded him gently. It was kind of nice having a busy kitchen filled with so many people I loved. "Speaking of which Tia, this is a nice birthday surprise. What brings you to L.A.?"

Maria was my mom's baby sister and not only did she have that amazing fashion sense, she was also the only one of the five Lopez children to go to college. She got a ROTC scholarship when she graduated from high school and has been in the Army since then. She didn't get to spend that much time with us, so I was always happy to see her.

"Can't I stop in for breakfast with my favorite niece on her birthday?" Maria smiled as she sat down next to me and squeezed my hand.

"Quit front'n. What's the story. Did you bring Bobby with you?" I asked.

"Bobby's still in San Diego with the boys." With a smile playing on her lips, Maria looked over at my mother who along with my grandmother was taking their places at the table as Dom set plates and utensils down around us. "Actually I came to ask your Mama if she'd like to be my Matron of honor."

My mom and I let out shrieks of surprise at the same time. "You're getting married?!"

Abuela started to thank every saint and the Virgin Mary up and down, all in Spanish of course. "_Finally!__ I was beginning to worry about you Maria!"_

"Beginning? Sure thing Mama. I'm sure you were _beginning_ to worry about me," Maria sassed as she pulled the ring that Bobby had given her out from around her neck and slipped it on for us to see. "Is that why every Mother's Day, birthday and Christmas you ask for more grandchildren when I ask you what you want?"

"So when's the wedding?" Dom asked as he made me a huge plate. "You're going to make Letty wear a dress right? Maybe like the one she wore to my graduation?" If he didn't look so cute when he made that hopeful face I would probably have given him the cold shoulder when he pulled me back into his lap. Damn he's _fine._

"We're thinking sometime in July. Since she's going to be one of my bride's maids, I can guaranty she's going to wear a dress, and yes, it'll probably be like the one she wore to your graduation. You cough liked that one Dom?" Maria replied, trying not to laugh.

"Letty may be an artist, but in a dress like that, I think she looks better than any model that I've ever seen." Dom was so reverent and sincere in his observation that I couldn't help but give him a tender kiss while my family 'awwed.'

"I told you this one was a good boy," Abuela said, pinching Dom's cheek. "But he needs to eat more!"

"I'm doing my best!" Dom laughed as my grandmother started heaping more food onto his plate. "It's not my fault if my girl won't stop kissing me long enough for me to get a decent meal in."

"So the two of you are official as of today, yes?" my mother asked as she brushed some hair out of my face. I guess I'll always be her little girl, I thought to myself as she smiled at me.

Dom picked out the grapes from his fruit salad and put them on my plate because he knows I love them. "Yeah. I talked to Pops about it last week when I asked him for the day off. He was pretty cool with it, finally. He said he knew all along that I hadn't stopped caring about Letty and that it was written all over my face whenever she walked in to the room. He did give me the same speech you did though."

"What _did_ you say to him that day Mama?" I ask, my curiosity peeked.

Taking a sip of her coffee before speaking, my mother smiled calmly before answering. "Basically that you're my only daughter and that I have some reservations about you dating someone so much older than you while you're in high school, but since it was Dominic, I'd trust him to be careful with you. And that I'd hunt him down like a dog and cut his cajones off and hand them to his father if he fucked up."

All of us cracked up laughing, including my grandmother. My mother never used language like that, but somehow I could just picture her giving Dom the lecture. I turned to Dominic and gave him a little squeeze. "I can see now why you spilled about the scholarship."

"No kidding. I had to promise her I'd get you home by curfew every night and that I'd refrain from all illegal activities in your presence. I think I got off lightly. I thought she was going to call Maria and get me forcibly enlisted." It was easy for Dom to joke now, but knowing him like I did, I could tell that he really had been worried in the moment.

"Was I worth it?" I asked, feeding him the last of my bacon.

Using the back of his hand, Dom's fingers stroked my cheek. "_Por__ supeusto_."

"They really are a cute couple, aren't they?" my aunt sighed, watching us.

Mama tsked her and rolled her eyes. "You make like you and Roberto aren't afectuoso. It's every five minutes with the two of you. It's about time he made an honest woman out of you. What is this, the eighth time he's asked you?"

"Uncle Bobby asked you to marry him before this?" I asked, surprised by this new piece of information.

"A couple of times. But the first time doesn't count because we were still in high school." My aunt brushed off my mother's comments, but for some reason I was still fascinated.

"Girl, he's been after you to marry him for over 10 years now!" Mama ragged.

"Why didn't you say yes before?" Dom said before I had a chance to ask.

"Well, I honestly didn't feel ready to get married yet. I mean I'm only 29!" Maria stabbed a piece of kiwi with her fork and waved it in the air. "I'm hardly an old maid."

"In this family you are! You've known Bobby since you were four, and you've been together since you were the same ages as these two," Abuela scolded Maria while pointing to Dom and I. "_Don't you two wait that long! I'm an old lady, I need more grandbabies **ahora**!_" she continued lecturing me in Spanish.

"Mama!" my mother cried. "She's just a little girl! My baby can't be having babies any time soon. I was twenty two when I got married and twenty five when I had Letty, and it was hard enough then. Now that Maria and Roberto are getting married, they can be the ones who give you more grandchildren. As if you need any more! Don't you think seven is enough?"

"Not when I had five children!" my grandmother fired back. "Besides Miguel's three are so gringo that they don't even speak Spanish!" Lifting her hands toward the sky she continued dramatically, "Why did God burden me with such grandchildren?! I just thank the Virgin Pedro doesn't have children! That boy!"

"What about Jaime's kids?" Maria asked playfully, steering the subject away from my crack head uncle Pedro. "They speak Spanish almost as well as Letty does, probably better than I do at this point." Spooning more food onto Dom's plate, she leaned toward him conspiratorially, "I heard them when they flew in for Eduardo's funeral, they were checking you out mijo. Letty you better watch your man."

"That's not funny." I glared at her, and frowned. "You're just trying to change the subject. I think we were talking about why you haven't already married Uncle Bobby."

"Damn girl, that's cold." Maria sighed. "Besides, it doesn't matter why we didn't get married already, because we're getting married now."

"While that answer doesn't cut it, my little sister is off the hook because you and Dom have to get a move on it. It's almost eight now and you have to be down at the DMV by nine so go take a shower now. I bet if you ask nicely your Tia will do your make up for you so you'll look good for your license."

"So you're serious? This no school to day thing is for real?" I ask, wanting to make sure.

"Yes I'm serious. Didn't Dom tell you this already?" From the grin on my mother's face, I know she and Dom have cooked up some secret surprise that I'm not expecting.

"He did, but he didn't tell me why we're in such a rush." Standing up from Dom's lap, I take my plate and his to the sink.

"I'm impressed. I wasn't sure you'd be able to keep it from her this long," Mama said, still grinning.

Dom snorted and crossed his arms across his chest, trying to look big and manly. "I'm not totally incompetent."

"Don't lie. We've seen the way you look at her. She's got you wrapped around her little finger," Maria laughed.

"Pot calling kettle little sister?" Mama said dryly.

Still laughing, Maria stuck out her tongue. "Oh like you and Eduardo were any different." Sometimes it's pretty easy to tell that she's twelve years younger than Mama.

Exasperated, I put my hands on my hips and stare at them all like they've lost their minds. "Enough already! What's this big surprise?"

"Sorry kiddo, we ain't telling just yet."


	15. Dangerous Curves

D/L 15- Dangerously In Love.

-Still Don't Own Them-

_Thanks for all the reviews thus far. I've gotta admit, I'm glad you're all enjoying the story because I'm getting frustrated that I can't get to where I want to be with it. I just keep telling myself slow and steady wins the race- ironic considering this is a Fast And The Furious fic, but whatevs._

_Also- as I have in past chapters, I've borrowed dialogue. This time the inspiration comes from _**Dangerously In Love 2, and** **Beyonce**** Interlude**_ by Beyonce. (Whom, along with Michelle, I wouldn't mind being in my next life.)_

Surveying the room slowly, I gave them all the evil eye just like how Dom's grandma taught me when I was eight. Maria, Dominic, my mother and grandmother all ignored me and went about their business. Nobody cared that the suspense was killing me.

Sacrificing my pride on the alter of dignity, I pleaded with them one last time in hopes of getting at least a clue about what was going on. "Will somebody _please_ tell me what's going on?"

My mother shook her head.

"Nope."

Maria didn't even bother to look at me as she started in on the dishes.

"Nyet."

Abuela put her hands in the air and waved me off.

"No."

Leaning back in his chair, Dom put his feet up on one of the empty seats next to him and folded his arms across his chest.

"Fuggedaboutit."

I let my hair down and ran a frustrated hand thru my tangled mane. "Ugh. This is crazy. Fine. If I go take my shower and get dressed, will you at least give me a clue when I get back?"

"Nope."

"Nyet."

"No."

"Fuggedaboutit."

"Ugh! This is crazy! _You people are crazy!_ _Loco!"_ I stomped upstairs, one part irritated, one part intrigued, and one part amused by the laughter that filled the room upon my melodramatic exit.

After a long hot shower, I borrowed my mother's hair drier and grabbed the big round brush I'd need to blow my hair out straight. I'd gotten just enough curl from the Dominican side of my family that I needed to spend a little extra time on my hair if I wanted it to be sleek and smooth. Whatever the day had in store for me, I was going to look mah best.

Wrapped in only a towel, I went to my closet to find something nice to wear. As fun as it is to be ghetto fabulous, I decided to wear the dress that Maria had picked out for graduation. If Dom wants to torture me, I might as well have some fun torturing him too.

Slipping into it, I nodded my head and checked myself out in the mirror, half a smile playing on my face. What was it they said? Bourghetto. Classy with that street edge simmering just under the surface. Better watch out Dom, these curves are dangerous.

I picked up a simple pair of sandals from Nine West and a pair of simple black shades, transferred my things into my girly wallet and headed downstairs so that Maria could do my make up. As I walked into the kitchen, I found the three female co-conspirators huddled around the table looking at bridal magazines talking about color schemes and party favors and shit.

Shaking my head, I slipped into the empty seat and sighed. "I think I'm going to o.d. on all the estrogen in here."

"Miss the garage already huh?" Maria glanced up once, then again when she realized what I was wearing. "Un vestido? You're one to complain about the estrogen overload. Hoy es tu compleanos, huh chica? We didn't even have to fight with you to put it on. Somebody's growing up."

I shrugged and flipped thru one of the magazines Tia had brought with her. "I thought I'd torture Dom a little since he's playing it all strong and silent today."

"A simple, 'I wanted to look nice today,' would have sufficed mija," Mama tsked flipping the magazine she was looking at shut and looking at me over it's edge. "I may pretend to be cool, but I'm still your mother. The less I know, the less I have to worry."

I grinned and made a funny face at her to make her laugh while I waited for Maria to get her make up bag. "I wish Mia could be here for this," I said wistfully. "She loves playing dress up and sh- stuff," the swift and literal slap on the hand from my grandmother making me alter my original choice of words.

"I know sweetie," Mama said, squeezing my hand from across the table. "But you'll see her later. Assuming Maria can get you out the door on time." Turning toward the living room, my mother called out over her shoulder to my aunt. "She has 15 minutes Maria, get a move on. Dominic is going to be here any minute now."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Maria powered back into the room, nearly running.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Maria was just putting the finishing touches on my lips when Dom knocked on the back door. Holding my chin in my hand, she kept me from looking up to see him. "Now listen carefully Leticia. Just because I used color seal does not mean you two get to make out like mad before you get your picture taken, got that?"

I batted my eyes innocently and looked up at her innocently.

Snorting, Maria shook her head and let me go. Obviously she didn't buy it.

I turned toward the door and found Dom standing nervously in the doorway with a single spray of the most beautiful purple orchids I'd ever seen. He was dressed in khakis and a white button down shirt and wearing simple tan dress shoes. I can't remember him ever wearing honest to god dress shoes- it was always Timberlands when he dressed up for… for other girls.

"Wow," he said swallowing hard. He looked frozen in place until my grandmother gave him a little push, propelling him forward awkwardly. Thrusting the orchids forward, he offered them to me. "These, I mean this- um their for you," he sputtered.

A soft smile on my lips I nodded and took the flowers from him carefully. I stood without a word and put it in a small vase sitting above the sink. I gave my mother, grandmother and aunt each a hug, brushing my lips across their cheeks before offering Dom my hand and walking out the door with him.

For some reason my heart was beating loud and fast in my chest as I stood next to his car, letting him open the door to it for me. I took a step toward the car just as Dom took a step away from it. His cologne filled my nostrils and suddenly I was high. I leaned forward, bracing myself against his chest with the palms of my hands on his chest. My eyes fluttered as he gazed down at me thru his own hooded eyes.

Without moving a muscle, Dom somehow surged forward with each breath he took. I could feel his heart beating under my hand. Seven beats later I felt the heat of his finger tips just above my skin. His right hand hovered at my hip while his left teased a wisp of my hair just between my jaw line and the crook of my neck.

Dom swallowed hard once again which teased a smile out of me. I let my hands drop from his chest to his belt loops and kissed the base of his neck and his pulse point. His breath hitched, which made my heart swell painfully.

"I love you," Dominic whispered as if he was the one in pain. "Baby I love you. You are my life. My happiest moments aren't complete if you're not by my side… I am in love with you. You set me free." Pausing to compose himself, Dom tilted my chin up and looked deep in to my eyes. "I can't do this thing called life without you here with me cause I'm dangerously in love with you. I'll never leave. Just keep loving me the way I love you loving me."

My stomach clenched tight when I realized his eyes were glazed over. A whimper tore from my throat when I saw a single tear roll down his cheek. I reached up and stopped it with my finger. Resting my forehead against his chin, I tried to find the right words. I didn't know what to say. There was nothing- I couldn't- What could I possibly say that would show him how I felt?

"Say something…" Dom implored.

"I- I can't. I don't know how to say it. I don't know the words, not in English, not in Spanish. Everything you said, I know it's true because I feel it too. Yesterday I tried to paint you, but the colors weren't beautiful enough. My love goes beyond what I can say." My voice never stopped shaking as I forced the words out and kept the tears in. "I want to show you. Please tell me that we have time tonight for me to show you how I feel."

The rumble of Dom's laughter reverberated thru me. "May—be. If you're lucky." He kissed my forehead and stepped away regretfully. "But for now, we gotta get you to the D.M.V." Handing me the keys he walked around to the passenger side and slid in. (_I know you didn't think I was going to sit bitch on the way to get my license_!)

Two hours later I was a proud and legally licensed driver in the state of California. As I walked toward Dom, freshly minted license in my hand, he stood up and rushed toward me as well. Tossing me up in the air, he let out a woop so loud that half the room turned around and saw him spin me around as if I weighed nothing.

"That's my girl!" Dom shouted proudly and giving me a loud playful kiss before dropping me lightly. "I knew you could do it!"

"I learned from the best," I said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's get out of here before we give these people a show," Dom growled, pulling me toward the parking lot.

"Do we get to have the sex now?" I ask jokingly as I let him lead me back to his Integra.

"Nope, and because you tried to figure out the schedule, you don't get to drive," Dom scolded.

"No fucking way! Come on Dom, please? What's the good of having a license if you're not going to let me use it?" I grabbed a hold of both his back pockets, slowing him down with my pouting.

Dom shook his head, unimpressed. "Nope." Taking the keys from me, he turned off the car alarm and leaned against it suavely. He gave me a brief kiss full of promise and then tweaked my nose. "And even if you hadn't been a brat, you still couldn't drive 'cause you don't know where we're going," he teased.

I pretended to frown as I slipped my arms around him. Using all my charm, I arched forward, knowing he didn't have anyplace to go. "You sure you don't want to give a hint?" Standing up on my tip toes I licked his neck from his ear to his collar bone, something I know drives him absolutely crazy.

"You're the devil woman," he growled, his hands reaching down and cupping my ass. "You have no shame, do you?"

I could feel him growing hard against me and I looked up at him coyly, shaking my head no. "Not when it comes to this. I want you too much to be ashamed about it."

Groaning, Dom pushed me away. "Fucking schedule! God I wish I could just take you away." Cursing under his breath, Dom rubbed his forehead as he walked around the car and got in behind the wheel. Windows down and turned the air on high, much like I had done the day Jesse was in the car with us. "Get in. We're going to be late as it is."

As I slipped in next to him, I couldn't help but laugh at his obvious discomfort. Maybe I should get a "Caution" sign tattoo somewhere. It would only be fair to give the poor boy a warning, right?


	16. Two Steps Forward A small jump ahead

D/L Part 16 & A Brief Note.  
  
Sorry for the delay & the brevity of this update. My Freaking Computer Decided To Commit Suicide. PoS. I had started a chapter that picked up from where we left off and it was pretty damn good if I do say so myself. I refuse to rewrite the whole thing. What does this mean for you? Well, we're jumping ahead 12 hours, but don't worry, someone will explain what happened- (with a little dirty detail for all you gutter heads)- in the next chapter.  
  
The next day:  
  
"So you and Dom are like official and shit now right?" Jesse asked as we hunkered under the hood of a Nissan in the garage.  
  
"Uh, yeah." I brushed some hair out of my face and put the dip stick back in. Stifling a yawn, I frowned. Jesse's great, but I was trying to concentrate on the car, not have a big deep conversation.  
  
"So you're doing it an shit right?"  
  
I stilled and blushed, deciding not to look at him. I nodded curtly and continued what I was doing.  
  
"Wait whaaaat? Yesterday was your first time, wasn't it?" Jesse stood up so fast he smacked his head on the hood of the car. Covering his grin with one hand he backed away, grinning like a fool. "Daaaamn Little Letty Latch on finally got her freak on."  
  
"Shut up!" I lurched at him, I covered his mouth for him. I looked around the garage quickly. Thankfully no one seemed to be around. "Don't call me that! Fuck, I thought the whole point of making new friends was so that old names died," I hissed.  
  
Jesse gave me a mischievous look and licked my hand then pulled back, grimacing. "That's nasty!"  
  
"We work in a garage Jesse, what did you think my hands were going to taste like cookie dough? Serves you right," I say, wiping the spit and oil off of my hand.  
  
Spitting on the floor, Jesse makes ten faces and hawks four loogies before giving me one last grimace.  
  
Deciding to take advantage of his temporary silence, I threatened him quickly and quietly. "Don't fucking be telling Vince and the others about this Jesse, or I swear to God I'll take a tire jack to your cajones."  
  
"You don't think Dom's going to tell them? It must be the first time he's gotten laid in almost a year," Jesse called over his shoulder as he jogged over to the fridge and pulled out a soda. Closing the door, he turned and gave me a quizzical look as I walked toward him and sat on a bench. He popped the tab and sat next to me, chugging the soda in one last desperate attempt to clean his palate.  
  
I shrug and rub my neck, a habit I picked up from Dom. "I don't think he's going to make an announcement about it. And they didn't know that we were together till yesterday."  
  
"But I've been to those parties with them girl. Dom's been brushing girls off him like he's gay or something since I got here. Apparently he used to be quite the stud." Jesse grabbed another soda. "Even Vince has been giving him a hard time about this sudden bought with chastity."  
  
"Chastity?" I couldn't help but snort and give him that excuse me?! look I'm so famous for. "That's a big word for someone who's about to fail English." I tried not to smile, but seeing him roll his eyes made me bust out laughing. "I'm only teasing dawg."  
  
"Yeah well you're right." After a pause, Jesse looks up at me with a small grin. "Tony said I could work here full time starting this summer."  
  
Smiling, I give Jesse a congratulatory nudge with my elbow. "Awesome. It'll be great to have you around. You gonna drive your dad's car in everyday, or does the Latin Lova have to drive you in?"  
  
"You still pissed at him, huh?" Jesse finished chugging the second soda and let out a huge burp. "I guess he was a buzz kill yesterday."  
  
"Buzz kill is a mild word for it," I say dryly, taking the can and making a three pointer with it. "The busta got wasted and tried to grope me in front of not only all of my friends but my AY-TALION boyfriend, whom he knew was my boyfriend, and whom he knew he had a big ol guido temper."  
  
"Pretty fucking stupid for a kid on the honor roll," Jesse agreed. "You'd think he's the one who was going to drop out of school."  
  
"You thinking of dropping out?" I look up surprised. I feel like a shit for not having noticed that he was struggling that much. Fuck.  
  
Letting out another belch, Jesse nods. "That's sort of what Tony meant. He said I could even move in if the Suarez's give me too much grief for it."  
  
Taking his hand, I give it a little squeeze. "They love you Jesse. Didn't you hear Mrs. S cursing Adrian out yesterday? She asked him why he couldn't be more like you." Clearing my throat, I sat up straight and did my best impression of Adrian's mom. "That boy works hard for everything in his life and he's never done anything as embarrassing as this!"  
  
Jesse laughs and shakes his head. "I have a feeling she said it in Spanish tho. You know I speak even less Espanol than Dom Dom does."  
  
"That's okay, you're still a stud." I give him another shove and grin.  
  
Jesse made like he was scared and pretended to back away. "Careful girl, Dom punched out one person in my family last night, I have no intention of being number two."  
  
Standing up, I yawned and stretched. Dom had kept me up hella late last night so I was pretty damn tired. "You're forgetting that there's a big difference between you and Age."  
  
"He's perfect in everyway and I'm not?" Jesse asked, running a greasy hand thru his hair.  
  
"Ehh. Wrong answer dufus. The difference is Age puts Dom in the mood to kick a little ass. Dom hates Age. Dom likes you. Any questions?" I nudge Jesse one last time before heading back to the Nissan. I figured I should try to be nicer to cause he didn't need any more stress.  
  
"He's not going to make me take it up the ass for him, is he?" Jesse asks, slapping me on the ass emphatically. "That's your job, right?"  
  
Unable to stop myself, I give him a kick in the ass. "I don't fucking do it like that."  
  
Jesse grinned and put me in a headlock. "Yet." 


	17. Dealing With Yesterday's Demons

Authors Note: Glad you all liked the last chapter. I freaked out after I posted it because I hadn't realized how big the gap between events was. I wasn't going to update again till I got my computer back, but I really want to smooth out the transition. My computer won't be back for at least a week, so this update will have to do till it returns. Savor it while you can.  
  
That's when Dom walked in.  
  
Jesse and were laughing, giving each other hell. Totally innocent.  
  
Only that's not how Dom reacted.  
  
Before I can say anything, Dom is on Jesse, yanking him off me, holding the boy in the air. He was ready to bash Jesse's head in. Jesse was too shocked to say anything; he couldn't do anything. Dom probably has forty pounds of muscle and 6 inches on Jesse. It would have been futile.  
  
"Dominic," I say softly, putting my arm on his. "No."  
  
Hearing my voice, Dom looks down at me and blinks twice. "That's Jesse, Dominic. He's your friend." My words are slow and feel thick on my tongue. I put a second hand on Dom, this one on the small of his back. I can feel the heat pulsing out of him.  
  
Dom blinks again and puts Jesse down slowly. Looking at me once again, Dom searches for something and finds it, but I'm not sure if it was approval r the next set of instructions.  
  
Instinctively, I keep cooing to Dom, totally ignoring Jesse who is shaking a little as he backs away quickly. "Good Dominic, that's good."  
  
Dom snakes his arms around me and pulls me to him. He lifts me up and carries me to the office, cradling me in his arms. Carrying me into the office, he reaches behind himself and locks the door, still holding me against his body.  
  
I've stopped talking now. The office is quiet, the only sound in the room is that of the fan. I'm resting against him, my face on his shoulder. I can feel his heart beating wildly, calling to my own, making it race to catch up.  
  
Dom places me gently on my feet and starts to undress me slowly. I stand there, not helping, but not interfering either. He's struggling with whatever demons residing within him. They have stolen him away from me, but somehow he is gentle with me as always. His face is not angry or sad. He looks neither horny or hurt. Instead there is a quiet look of determination. He needs something, but he's not sure what. I'm not sure either, but I know that if I have it to give, I'll share it with him willingly.  
  
When I am completely naked Dom takes my hands and puts them on the buttons of his cover alls. I smile up at him adoringly and nod as I start to undress him. His skin is so different from mine, but just as rich. His nearly olive complexion compliments my more toasted cinnamon tones.  
  
As if he knew what I was thinking he smiled down at me and whispered my name as I helped him step out of the last of his clothes. He held his fingers so that they brushed down my sides as I stood up.  
  
"Our babies will be beautiful Mira," he said as he kissed me. His touch was possessive, but not dominant. It was as if he was trying to protect me. As if he was the one who lacked the eloquence necessary to express himself with words. This was his way. It was our way.  
  
It took a moment for his words to penetrate. I looked up once again, this time with wonder. "Our babies?"  
  
"Our babies," he smiled. He placed wet kisses on my neck. "Someday... we'll have babies together. Live in a big house with a yard. Two dogs. Three kids."  
  
The combination of his words and his touch was enough to make me shudder. I put my hands on his body, intending only to steady my self. Somewhere far away I could hear soft panting laced with feminine whimpers.  
  
Closer than that, however, was Dom's hot pressing need. It wasn't just his cock, though, that was making its presence known. His whole being emanated it.  
  
He picked me up carefully and placed me on the couch so that my legs hung over one arm and my hips were elevated slightly. Without notice he started to kiss me there and I had to bite my fist to keep from screaming too loudly. For what seems like an eternity he kept at it, touching and kissing me. Knowing I was still tender, he concentrated on my clit, using his fingers to caress my core only sparingly.  
  
Just before the end I grabbed a pillow and pressed it to my mouth. I came hard, screaming out that I loved him. My words were muffled but I know he heard me. Usually if Dom and I fooled around like this, he liked to press himself in between my breasts, but today he didn't have time for that. He may only be a quarter Cuban , but he had enough Latino in him to enjoy that. But moments after I had cried out, Dom stood and started to cum himself. I watched as he spilled onto that feminine expanse of flesh between my belly button and my bikini line. It was only the second time I'd seen him actually finish. Well, seen Big Dom finish. It was... fascinating.  
  
Looking into his eyes, I knew he was about to pass out so I stood up and pushed him gently down so that he took my place on the couch. I reached for the secret stash of baby wipes we'd hidden under the couch and wiped myself clean. I threw the used wipe away and crawled on top of Dom.  
  
We slept there together, passed out for three hours. It was the phone that woke us. Mia was calling to ask Dom to bring home some groceries that they don't stock at their place. He got dressed as he talked to her on the phone, and, amazingly enough, somehow managed to write a list of a few other things they needed at the same time.  
  
As he hung up the phone he kneeled in front of me and smiled. "I like seeing you naked."  
  
I gave him a soft smile, and stayed where I was, too sleepy to argue or be embarrassed. "What time is it Papi?"  
  
"Almost 7:30. Mia needs some of this stuff for dinner. You wanna come with or do you want to go back to your place?"  
  
I sat up slowly shook my head no. "I gotta do some homework."  
  
Dom tweaked my nose and stood up. "Now that's one part of school I don't miss."  
  
I got home about 20 minutes later and after having a quick convo with my family members, I headed up to my room and called Mia.  
  
"Hallo?" From the way Mia answered the phone I could tell she was in the middle of something.  
  
Flopping on my bed, I flipped thru the stack of birthday cards that had come for me in today's mail. "Hey chica. Wassup?"  
  
"Finally. Damn, it sucks that you're up at the Academy. I hate that I can't grill you on stuff during the day." I could hear Mia running up the stairs to her room. She was quiet till she got the door closed. "So... were you surprised?"  
  
"Yeah. How'd you convince Dom that the party should be at Adrian's?" Thinking back on yesterday's events, I was still amazed at them.  
  
"Well, we couldn't have it at the garage, the pitt is too crowded right now with racing stuff, your place was out, our place was out and well, Adrian volunteered via Jesse." I could just picture Mia ticking off the reasons on her fingers.  
  
"Speaking of Jesse, Dom almost killed him this afternoon." I sighed and waited for Mia to react.  
  
"What do you mean Dom almost killed Jesse. Like there was an accident at the garage?" Mia was totally confused.  
  
"Yeah- no. Dom walked in on me and Jesse horsing around and like, flipped his shit. He had Jesse up in the air and would have beat the shit out of him but somehow I managed to calm him down. It was weird, all I had to do was say Dom's name and touch him and he just- relaxed. But I guess Adrian really fucked Dom up yesterday."  
  
Mia was silent for a moment. "You have this power over Dom that none of us have. I can nag him about something for weeks and he'll totally ignore me. You just say something in passing and Dom will instantly offer to do that same thing for you that I was after him about."  
  
I snorted. "Whatever."  
  
"It's true Letty, and you know it," Mia teased. "That's how I figured out that Dom was in love with you. Well that and the fact that his eyes would follow you for miles. I'm glad you two are together."  
  
I thought about it for a moment before silently capitulating the point to her. "Do you think anyone else figured it out? I mean there were a lot of people there yesterday, and most of them didn't look shocked to see me walk in holding Dom's hand."  
  
"Well, the two of you have known each other forever. And it just... makes sense. Vince had a cow though. That was hilarious." Mia started laugh and couldn't stop.  
  
Her laughter was infectious and soon I was laughing too. "Yeah that was some pretty funny shit. I thought he was going to wet himself. I almost asked him if he was drunk or something, but since the party started at noon..."  
  
Now it was Mia's turn to snort. "Oh like you were so much more smooth when Dom and your mom gave you your gift."  
  
"Well I knew Mama was going to get me a car, but that Nissan is going to be fucking awesome once I get it tuned up and we finish the body work." My very own 240 SX. Damn I'm a lucky girl. "It was a pretty fucking awesome day."  
  
"Except maybe for the part where Adrian got wasted and Dom wanted to kick the shit out of him." Trust Mia to focus on the details.  
  
"Yeah that pretty much sucked. Dom has always had this thing about Adrian too. I mean we had this fight once, I mean huge blow out, and when Dom was begging, he didn't even try to make me forgive him. He just begged me not to call Adrian, like he was worried I was going to replace him with Adrian." I sighed, thinking back to the day of the college fair.  
  
"I can't really blame him. You sort of did replace him with Adrian." Again with the details. Mia was obviously trying to bust on me.  
  
Wait. What was she talking about? Did she know that- I mean why did she say-. "What do you mean I replaced Dom with Adrian?"  
  
"Girl, you've been following Dom around since the day you met him. The only time you weren't on him like a shadow was during the two weeks you were with Suarez." She paused for a moment, realizing that wasn't completely true.  
  
I tried to rush the conversation along, not wanting to explain to her that I'd been swapping spit with Dom for a hell of a lot longer than she knew. "But Mi, that was like, last June. It's March. Don't you think it's been long enough that-"  
  
Mia interrupted me, sounding pretty mad. "Wait. From the moment you started working at the garage until graduation, you and Dom fought like... Communists and Capitalist, like Capulets and Montagues. You couldn't stand to be in the same room together... Did something happen between you before yesterday?"  
  
Shit. So Screwed. "Um. Mi. Look, just-"  
  
Mia's voice went up like 4 octaves. "Oh eww, Letty, please tell me you two haven't been fucking this entire time!"  
  
"No! Don't worry. Yesterday was the first time." Shit, again. She probably didn't need to know that.  
  
"Letty, he's my brother- please, no more. I've decided I don't really want to know. Although I always thought we'd talk about our first times, but maybe ignorance is bliss."  
  
"Good choice. But, um, just so you don't think I'm a slut who gives it up on the first date, Dom and I... like, it wasn't as sudden as it looks, you know? I wanted to tell you, but if I did you would have told Tony and Tony did NOT approve. He, I mean Tony loosened up a lot about it when my Dad was..." I swallowed the lump in my throat, but couldn't go on.  
  
Sensing my emotional overload, Mia kindly took over the conversation. "So if you and Dom are so stable, then why does he freak out so much about Adrian?"  
  
"I don't freaking know. It probably doesn't help that Adrian basically told me he was still in love with me in September when we went back to school, but I've hardly seen him since then. And I don't know what the hell Age was thinking yesterday." I could still smell the tequila on Adrian's breath when I remembered the incident...  
  
"What exactly happened? I was on the other side of the room talking to someone," Mia asked.  
  
"I just went to thank him for helping out with the party and he asked me to dance. It was okay at first, but then a slow song came on and Adrian... got a little too close. I told him to knock it off, like as nicely as I could, but he just got belligerent and started getting a little rough." I cringed, remembering that his hands had been a little too familiar. "And that's when Dom cut in. When Adrian wouldn't take a hint, Dom flipped and yanked him off me and threw him aside. Then Adrian got all loud and big and just wouldn't shut up. That's when I thought Dom was going to kill him."  
  
"And that's when Adrian's mom started to yell at Adrian?" Mia asked, starting to figure out the timeline.  
  
"Pretty much." I twirled and untwirled the phone chord around my fingers. "I felt a little bad for Adrian, so I just grabbed Dom and we left. He calmed down by the time we got to my house."  
  
"And since you knew your mom them would stay, make peace with the Suarez's and help clean up, you jumped Dom's bones." Mia sounded so prissy it was surreal to hear her use those last four words.  
  
"Uh yeah." Busted.  
  
"Without any detailed explanation, on a scale from 1-10, 10 being a perfect score... how was it?" Mia asked.  
  
"Honestly?" I said slowly, "We've done other things that I liked better. The first part hurt, and then it was awkward- I mean I didn't know what I was doing and my bed is so small. It got a lot better, but it almost... it almost lasted too long. Dom's... well let's just say after I get used to it, I'll be happy about it. Very happy. I guess I'd say 7-7.5."  
  
"Remind me not to ask you anything like that again," Mia said dryly. "Shit, Dom just got home. I'll see you later, kay?"  
  
"Sure thing. And if you tell Dom I gave him a C, I'll kill you."  
  
"Sure thing," Mia laughed. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." 


	18. No Questions Asked

Had a few minutes. Had the urge. Enjoy. And Review PLEASE!

**No Questions Asked**

Dominic Torretto. Tall. Strong. Handsome. Hot-headed. Mine. And everyone knew it.  
  
For my birthday he'd orchestrated a day full of suprises. A run on the beach. Breakfast with my family. My license before noon. And for lunch a 12 hour long party at my ex-boyfriend's family restaruant and attended by everyone I'd basically ever met. Including both boyfriends- the current and former.  
  
And yet... it worked. I had more presents than fit in the used Nissan 240 SX that Mama bought me. More cake and ice cream than fit into my dress. More friends and family than fit into my heart.  
  
That is until Adrian got drunk, copped a few too many feels and Dom almost made the Suarez's permanent empty nest'ers.  
  
But I wasn't mad at Dominic, I wasn't mad at Adrian, that day I couldn't be mad at anyone. I was at my birthday party, in public, with Dominic. We walked thru the doors of the restaurant and Dom introduced me as his girlfriend, the birthday girl. And when the little latin lova tried to get me to latch on, Dominic could introduce his fist to Adrian's face and no one thought twice about it. Because boyfriends could protect their girlfriend's honor. No questions asked.  
  
When I took Dom's hand and told him that we should go for a walk on the beach till he calmed down, just the two of us, people actually smiled at us. We were together, that's all that mattered. Everything was right with the world.  
  
And when he spread the quilt out on the sand in the quiet cove, it was wonderful. We were together. He was mine. I was his. No questions asked.


	19. The Facts

A/N: Sorry! I realized after I posted that I got the dates wrong. Just reposting to make the flow better. My bad!

Original A/N: It's official. The laptop is fried worse than Brian's Eclipse was. It's all gone. I had planned on taking my 'puter with me to Aus, but looks like it ain't to be. What this means for you: I'm going to try to finish this story by July 7th and try to update as often as possible. If I can't get it done by then, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. Wish me luck!  
  
**The Facts.**  
  
Knowing what I know now, I wish I... But I can't change the past. I can only make sure it doesn't repeat itself.  
  
It's frustrating sometimes to listen to Jesse tell a story. He'll jump from here to there to God knows where and back in under thirty seconds. Jesse once told me that having ADHD was like standing in a stream and trying to catch a fish with only your bare hands. You run around chasing flashes of silver as they catch your eye and then suddenly you realize you've followed not one but a dozen different fish and you don't know where the fuck you are or how you got there.  
  
Whenever I look back on the last five years and try to make sense of what's happened, I get this paralyzing feeling like I'm the one standing in the stream. I can see the memories dart past me in my mind, but I can't catch them. I can't make things sit still long enough for them to make sense to anyone, including myself. And if I can't understand what happened, then how will he?  
  
From March 3rd till September 3rd of that year, my life was the sweetest dream. I had an amazing present and a promising future. I had a supportive family and a loving boyfriend. Palmdale changed all of that.  
  
It should have been a great weekend. Tia Maria and Bobby were getting married in San Diego. Tony was in the biggest race of his career. Dom had saved up enough money so that he could catch a plane after the race and be in San Diego in time to be my date for the wedding. But after waiting at the airport for him to fly in for two hours I realized that something just wasn't right. When I called the fort, Vince picked up and...  
  
I knew I wasn't in any condition to drive back to L.A. so I could be there for Dom and Mia. So I flew. I pulled out all of the cash from my savings account and bought a ticket on the first flight out. The shit fucking wiped me out- I had to fly first class and spend more money than- but it didn't matter. What mattered was that less than three hours later I was there. I got out of the cab. I ran up the stairs. I walked in the house. And I staid.  
  
Everyone thinks they know what happened next. They know Dom tore his own rotator cuff to shreds while beating the shit out of Linder. They know he got banned from the tracks for life. They know he spent 2 years in Lompoc. That when he came home he took up street racing. That he became the King.  
  
They Don't Know Shit.  
  
These are the facts in black and white:  
  
On September 3rd, 1996, Anthony Torretto died on the tracks.  
  
On September 9th, 1996, part of Dominic Antonio Torretto died when he encountered the man who caused Tony's death, Kenneth Linder.  
Dominic used a stilson wrench on Linder with such force that Linder now catches the bus to his job as a high school janitor.  
  
On September 12th, 1996 Dominic turned himself in to the police.  
  
On March 6th, 1997 as part of a plea bargain arrangement, Dominic entered a no-contest plea and received a two and a half year sentence.  
Dominic was allowed four days to get his affairs in order and to make arrangements for someone to take custody of his  
minor sister, Mia Elizabeth Torretto, age 15.  
  
On March 10th, 1997 Dominic began serving his sentence.  
  
On March 12th, 1999 Dominic was released six months early for good behavior.  
  
On March 12th, 1999 Dominic came home to Mia, Vince, Jesse and Leon.  
  
On March 12th, 1999 reports indicate that yet another part of Dominic Antonio Torretto died when he realized I wasn't there.  
  
I wasn't there. I didn't know that he- I mean I wanted to be there but- I. I wasn't there. God forgive me, please, please forgive me. Because if You can, maybe Dominic can too.


	20. Chapter 20

You've been wondering what I did that was so bad. Sometimes, honestly, I wonder myself. I tried, I tried so goddamn hard to do the right thing but fuck, it wasn't enough. I'm sorry Dominic, I tried. God I tried.  
You see, I wasn't there. According to Dominic I forgot to be there. It stung when he said that to me, but you know what stung worse? I didn't forget. I chose. I chose not to be there because I thought... I thought by leaving I was helping more than I could by staying. I'm sorry...  
  
Those facts I gave you, the black and white, it was supposed to be the truth right? It wasn't. I left out the biggest part because on paper it looks so, so, so black and white. In reality it was this small thing. All together it took 27 minutes. It didn't make a difference to how I lived my life, not really. Its like I didn't believe it happened. Like I don't believe that... that we were actually married.  
  
There. I said it. I haven't said it since... since the day I came back to L.A. Dom and I haven't been the same since he got out. Fuck, if we're being fucking honest, we haven't been the same since the last time I visited him in Lompoc. It was four weeks after he went in.  
  
Damn it, I'm jumping ahead of myself. I told you it was like that with this shit. I'm like the opposite of Jesse I guess. Engines, the garage, the whole bit calms him down. Speak to him. Dominic, the garage, the whole bit- it- it fuck. It's hard.  
  
We didn't tell anybody. Part of Dom wanted to, but I didn't want to. Not when it went down like it did. If Dom had insisted, maybe things would have been different. But he didn't. If he had insisted I would have caved. Everybody knows that even now, even when our shit is all fucked up, I can't deny him anything. He asked me to fucking knock over trucks for him and I did it for christs sake. I'd give my life for him, even now. I just, I just can't give him my trust.  
  
The story. Right. How it happened.  
  
We were sitting at the beach. In my car. It was 1:26 in the morning. I remember because we'd been sitting there for two hours in silence and I was wondering when Dom would want to go home. We did that sometimes after the accident. I'd drive cause Dom's arm was in the sling- I'd made him get it fixed asap so that if he had to go he could defend himself when he got there. I'd drive and we'd just go as fast and far as we could go on a tank of gas. When we stopped at the beach or at a view point I'd read to him while his he laid his head in my lap. Occasionally we talked about the future, but most times we just were. Together. We were. We just were.  
  
That's when we became an institution. From the moment I walked into the fort till the day he walked into Lompoc, Dom and I were inseparable. Literally the only time we were apart was when I was at school. Any other time, be it day or night we were together. After about ten days of unsuccessful nagging my mom gave up on trying to get me to come home and sleep in my own bed. It was simple for me, a no brainer. Dom needed me with him, so I staid with him always. I was always in his arms or by his side. It became clear that day in the garage where Dom almost lost it with Jesse: my touch was the music that soothed the savage beast in Dominic. And for those months before he went to Lompoc, when Dom didn't say much, I spoke for the both of us.  
  
Things have changed. Now I'm the quiet one. Dom's the talker. I wish he wasn't so fucking good at it. He can charm the shit out of me. He can charm the panties off- can't think like that. But back then, things were different. As fucked up as they were then, things were better.  
  
1:27 a.m. The moon is high in the sky, shining down on us. If I close my eyes and breathe deeply, I can almost convince myself that tonight is just like that first night on the beach, when the biggest problem I faced was taking an innocent comment too personally. It's not.  
  
Dom takes my hand in his and kisses it softly. "Baby?" he asks, his voice filled with hesitancy.  
  
"Yes Dominic?" I give him a small smile which doesn't quite stick.  
  
"Do you still love me?" He tries to keep the tremble out of his voice, but even if he'd been successful, I would have seen it in his eyes. Those eyes, God, those eyes. No one our age should have eyes like those. So damn tired. So filled with regret.  
  
"I'll always love you. You made a mistake but if its possible, I love you more now. My father taught me not to judge a man by the mistakes he makes, but by how he tries to fix them. As long as you keep trying, nothing you could ever do would make me stop..."  
  
A tear runs down his face. I take a deep breath and touch my finger to it. I knew in that moment that I would do anything to stop his tears if I could. "You took responsibility. You came forward, you're trying Dominic. You're human. You made a mistake that you'll have to live with for the rest of your life. But you know what? I want to be there to help you live with it for the rest of mine." Placing a gentle kiss on his forehead I smile and try to lighten the moment, to make this night more like that one a lifetime ago. "I mean come one, I already asked you to marry me."  
  
Dom smiled, a wistful smile. God he's beautiful, even when he's miserable. "I... Can we?"  
  
Not sure what he meant, my eye brows knit together. "What, you mean have sex?" Before Palmdale even a weak ass line like that would have worked no problem. Since Palmdale it seemed that while Dom always needed to be near me, he never needed to be with me. "Here?"  
  
He shook his head. "That's not what I meant Letty. I meant can we get married? Before I go away." Dom's voice was particularly deep, the vibrations filled and echoed thru my car.  
  
I stared at him, my face expressionless. I could feel my heart pounding. Was that sweat rolling down his neck? He looked as flushed as I felt. When had it gotten so hot?  
  
I tried to swallow but I couldn't, my throat was parched. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. Where had I heard that before? What was it from? It was too much. This was too much.  
  
I shut my eyes and tried to breath. "I need you to say what you said again. I don't think I understood you correctly."  
  
"We should get married before I go." He pronounces each word carefully, deliberately. It's not patronizing, but it definitely not romantic.  
  
"I don't understand. Why now? What's the rush? I'm still in high school for God's sake Dominic. Are you that worried about loosing me? I know that I love you and that no one and nothing can change that. You should know that too by now. You don't need to give me your ring right now to make sure that I stay true."  
  
I don't know when the tears started, but both Dom and I have pretty good flows going on right now. If it were any other moment, I'd laugh at the picture we must make. Mia's the emotional one, not us. This whole thing is just... surreal.  
  
Wiping his face with the sleeve of his good arm, Dom does the 'I'm a man I don't cry I just have sinus issues' snort. "I want us to get married now because I need you. I need you to be able to visit me no problem instead having to drag your moms or someone down with you. I need you to know how much I love you and right now the only thing I have to offer you in return is my future."  
  
Dom rubs my cheek and gives me another regretful smile. "And maybe it's selfish, and maybe I'm a bastard for putting this on you, but I need you to take care of the shop, the house, the store and Mia. You can't do that if you're just my girlfriend, but you can if you're my wife."  
  
I kiss his palm and stroke his cheek, mirroring his touch. "This isn't how I thought this would go. I didn't imagine that we'd end up like this Dominic."  
  
"All beginnings are hard baby," Dom whispers. "Isn't that what that guy said in that story you read to me? The Chosen?"  
  
I smile, remembering the book by Chaim Potok and those lazy days and nights that we spent reading it. "You remembered." My heart swelled and I knew I would do it. I would marry Dom. "How do you want to do this?"  
  
Looking years younger, Dom grinned. "I was thinking something small for now, but a big wedding when I come home. Maybe this time we could just do it in the back yard with your family and the Team. Mia can be a brides maid. Vince can be my best man. What do you think?"  
  
My smile faltered. "Mia... Shit. I don't want her to know one of the reasons we're doing this now because we're worried about her."  
  
Dom frowns. "So what you're saying we shouldn't tell anyone?"  
  
I bite my lip and look up at him nervously. "I think it would be better, you know? I mean I'd be proud to be your wife Dominic. I'll marry you tomorrow, I swear. But that's going to be our marriage, our relationship, and as much as we both love Mia, she can't come between us and I don't want her to think she is."  
  
"Wait, hold up," Dom says obviously confused. "What are you talking about? You just said-"  
  
"I know what I just said, and I know it doesn't really make sense. Sorry it's fucked up, I know. Let's just get married down at the court house. First because I love you, and second because it will make things easier. I'll help out with everything while you're gone, but Mia doesn't have to know about it. No one will say shit about us being too young, me marrying you for the money, you chaining me down- none of that bull shit will be able to touch us. And when you get out we'll have the one big ceremony." I place another kiss on his forehead. "Okay?"  
  
Dom nods. "Kay."  
  
So we did it. We got married. Since I was just 17, I had to get permission from my mom. She wasn't for it at first, but after we talked it over, she signed off on it and even volunteered to be our witness. Just me and Dom and my mom were there. We walked in. Signed the papers. Twenty seven minutes later I was Mrs. Dominic Torretto.  
  
A/N: Sorry about the delay. I'll try to finish the story before I leave. 


	21. Fall From Grace

Chapter 21- The Fall From Grace. Hey everyone- I wrote and wrote and wrote- but it was all by hand so while I knew I was making progress, you all were in the dark. Having been inspired by the recent updates of some of my favourite authors, I'm typing away. I'm trying to get as much of it down as fast as I can so there may be a few gaps. Forgive me- and encourage me with some reviews puhlease!  
  
Chapter 21- The Fall From Grace  
  
Introduction...  
  
It sucked, but Dom went in and life went on. I kept a scrapbook to give to Dom when he got out. I wrote in it like I would a diary 'cept instead of dear diary, I wrote dear dom. Cheesy, I know, but shit- it helped me feel like I was talking to him and discussing stuff with him like he was here with me. I put pictures in it of stuff like Mia's prom and graduation, Vince and Jesse goofing around, stuff like that. I even drew out plans for the dream house we'd live in when this was all behind us. It was the fort, only... more. I sketched out how I'd decorate the rooms, renovate things and I don't know, rebuild. We needed to rebuild.  
  
With Dom in prison our budget was tight. Even before he went in we were not only strapped for cash, we were behind. About $25K behind. Tony's life insurance covered some, but doctors, lawyers, taxes... it just didn't end.  
  
I had cut costs at the garage by taking an 80% pay cut. It helped, but it wasn't enough. It was Friday and the boys were wrapping up work early. Business was slow. Mia and I were on the phone trying to balance the books. Who'd a thought I'd learn that sort of thing at an art school? We were trying to use creative math and sheer will combined with the profits from the grocery to keep the house and the garage open. Yeah that's right- in our fucked up world, it was the grocery that kept us a float.  
  
I remember Mia saying something about summer coming up. "It'll help," she said. "We can cut back on part time staff then. I'll be able to work the counter all day and the neighbourhood kids love your Abuela's cooking so we should make bank on that."  
  
"I know it'll suck Mi, but that'll be a big help. Shit I'm going to have to talk to Mama about transferring back. If I bag that commute, I can spend another two hours a day at the garage AND I'd save on gas." I put my feet up on the desk and tapped my pen on the accounting binder.  
  
Mia wasn't amused. "Jesus Letty, you can't be serious about this. You know you'll be miserable if you transfer back now. Stay at the Academy."  
  
I roll my eyes. God I love the phone sometimes. There's no way I coulda got away with that if Mia was here. "Unless you can think of another way Mi, I'm going to have to."  
  
Of course, this is when I notice Jesse and Vince standing in the doorway looking pissed.  
  
I sigh and tell Mia I'll call her back later.  
  
"Can I help you gentlemen?" I ask sitting up straight.  
  
Jesse comes in and sits on the back of the couch. "Why didn't you tell us money was this big a problem?"  
  
"What, you didn't notice business has been down since Tony died?" I rubbed my eyes and tried not to look stressed. "Besides you guys are already working your asses off and I know you haven't been filing for all your hours. I'm just trying to do my share, carry my weight."  
  
Jesse snorts. "You're putting in almost as much time as we are and you're in school for like 8 hours a day. You keep up like this and you're going to make yourself sick Letty. I'll come in earlier- you go to school."  
  
I shake my head. "No man. That's not cool. You can't work for free too and I can't afford to pay you what I owe you as it is Jess. Shit we're borrowing money from the store already."  
  
Vince rubs the goatee he's trying to pull off without much success. "How much we short?"  
  
I shake my head again. "So much that I'm thinking of asking my mom for a loan."  
  
"It's that bad?" Vince frowns.  
  
I put the books on the desk and twirl the pen around. "It's that bad. I tried talking to Dom about it a couple of times before... but he wasn't ready to hear it and now it's too late. We got lucky this month with that job from Ralphie so we're okay for right now, but it's going to be fucking tight man." I stare out the window and fight back tears.  
  
"That job for Ralphie wasn't that big. After your cut-" Jesse starts.  
  
"I didn't take it." I sigh.  
  
"What?!" Vince says as he cracks his neck and sits down across from me. "Your cut was almost three grand."  
  
"Which we needed to pay down the mortgage on the garage and the house." I tap the pen against the arm of the chair as I stare back at the disbelieving duo. "Look, I don't have to pay rent. I don't have any bills of my own to pay really so it was no big thing."  
  
Jesse says something magical and beautiful then. "Cut mine too then."  
  
I want to say yes, but I know it's wrong so I shake my head and tell him no. "Jess I can't do that. You and Vince gotta make rent."  
  
"I'll move back in with the Suarez's," he says simply.  
  
"And what about Vince then?" I say, trying to be the voice of reason.  
  
"I won't need to make rent either since I'm moving into the house." Vince puts his feet up on the desk and crosses his arms, trying to look all king of the hill. "Someone's gotta keep an eye on you two."  
  
Jesse makes a face. "Wait, what? You're still at the house Let? Shit, then I'm moving in too. I ain't gonna move in with the Puerto Rican Pleasantville if you all are going to have a party with out me."  
  
I laugh and nod. "You know we should ask Mia and Dom since it is their house."  
  
"They better say yes. I just agreed to work for next to nothing till that asshole gets home." Vince winces. "I'm gonna be getting less ass then Dom is when the girls find out I'm a scrub."  
  
"Well, it could be worse," I say cheerily. "You could be Jesse. Even when he was getting paid, he wasn't getting laid."  
  
"Fuck you both!" Jesse says indignantly as the three of us leave the garage laughing.  
  
The Sht Hitteth the Fanneth  
  
Course it was that $25K we were already short that fucked things up for Dom and I. Well I guess if we're being honest, it was how I came up with the money that fucked things up.  
  
I have this tendancy to put off talking about it and making it into this whole big thing when really it was kinda simple. I'll try to avoid that now.  
  
But just a warning- this all went down so long ago and everything happened so fast- I feel like if I don't talk about it long and slow I'll miss something- and I probably will. Just don't shoot the messenger. That was Dom's job. Fuck.  
  
See, once Vince and Jesse moved in and took their pay cuts, I went into the bank and told them the leek had been plugged and that we were slowly getting back on our feet. I went dressed in a suit, with the books and projections I'd made, all business like and shit. They were surprised, amused and not a little horrified to see a 17 year old appear before them, but they listened. Then they gave me 6 months to come up with half the  
  
Long story short: I dropped out of school, got my G.E.D. and enlisted in the Army on a two year stint.  
  
I got my mom's permission. I told the team what I was doing and why.  
  
I just didn't tell Dom.  
  
I MEANT to. I swear I did. But Mia and the Team convinced me not to.  
  
"Letty, let the man keep his pride. You're only doing this for the $10K signing bonus 'cause we need the money," Jesse said as we sat around the kitchen the night before I planned to go tell Dom what I'd done.  
  
"Jesse, I can't do that man. I tell him everything. I told him that you and Vince moved in here and why. I even told him when I got that speeding ticket. I can't just not tell him I'm going to be around as much as I should for the next two years. I promised man." As I talk I finger the plain gold band I wear under my shirt on a chain around my neck. I promised.  
  
"I still can't believe you're doing this chica," Vince said as he handed me a Corona. "I mean you're like, as smart as Mia and Jesse combined. You sure you wanna go play G.I. Jane for two years?"  
  
I take the beer and tap it against his before answering him. "Vince, I'm not that smart- I'm just... unique. Not that many girls know about carburettors and shit so that makes me... a valuable commodity. So since Uncle Sam wants to pay me for being me, I figure, why the hell not."  
  
"Jesse's right you know," Mia said as she drank her Snapple and braided my hair for me. Even though we were getting shit faced in 'celebration,' we weren't letting Mia drink since Dom would kick all of our asses if we did.  
  
"What?" I asked, so startled I jerk forward and accidentally cause myself a considerable amount of pain. "Are you for real?"  
  
Mia pulled my hair tight trying to fix the damage I'd caused. "I'm serious. You're gonna be at Los Alamitos- that's not that far. You're gonna be able to live here with us most of the time and just commute so what's the big deal?"  
  
"The big deal is that I'm gonna be gone for basic for almost two months. The big deal is that I'm gonna have to be out in the field sometimes and then I won't be here. Dom trusts me Mia- I don't want to fuck that up." I close my eyes and hold the beer to my temple.  
  
The big deal Mia is that we're married, I think but don't dare to say out loud. The big deal is that I'm scared shitless that I'm doing the wrong thing and I need Dom to tell me it'll be okay and that I made the right choices here.  
  
"You're not my babysitter Letty. You're only a year older than me." Mia is scowling and bringing tears to my eyes, she's pulling my hair so hard.  
  
Uh, yeah I am, I think. Just ask Uncle Sam. He's paying me extra since technically Mi, since I'm secretly married to your brother, you're my dependent.  
  
I staid silent, thinking about the fact that I had rushed into this whole Be All You Can Be thing. I'd rushed in so that it would be easier to tell Dom after everything was set; I hadn't wanted to chicken out, and I hadn't wanted Dom to talk me out of it, which I knew he would try to do. We needed the money and when I saw that recruiting poster I knew what I had to do. This was it.  
  
If I listened to them then I wouldn't have to tell Dom. I'd be safe from his hurt, his anger, and his possible disappointment. I was doing this for him, but I knew he wouldn't see it that way. It had taken three hours of screaming with Mia to get her to see that we needed the money. I'd had to show her the books. She'd thrown up. It was nasty because we'd had spaghetti for dinner.  
  
I thought about how hard it had been to tell them. We'd been sitting around the table, the four of us, just like this. I'd done the bank thing a couple of weeks before that and on my way home I'd stopped at school to pick up some books from my locker. I'd seen the recruiting poster in the hallway a thousand times before but that day I actually walked over to it and read it.  
  
Instead of going home to the Fort, I'd gone home to my mom's house. I told her that even with the scholarship, she was paying too much money for an education that I just couldn't take advantage of right now. I told her that if she wanted to help make me happy, that what I'd really like would be for her to loan me the money she would have paid for the Academy cause I really needed it to keep Team Torretto on it's feet. I told her about what I was thinking of doing that doing and that this whole Army thing was my way of doing my part.  
  
She'd nodded, called my aunt, and got Tia to promise to do everything in her power to get me stationed here.  
  
I'd put off telling the team till that night with the spaghetti. I'd already dropped out, taken the G.E.D. and found out that according to the U.S. Army I was a fucking genius.  
  
Jesse had taken it the best. My adopted little brother had taken my hand and given me a squeeze. Without saying anything he told me that he understood. I guess having to deal with his own shit with his dad going up state made him get it.  
  
If I took Jesse and Mia's advice, I'd be able to put off a similar incident with Dom until he could see that it had all worked out...  
  
I took a long sip and finished off my beer. "What do you think Vince?" I asked.  
  
Vince let out a big burp and scratched his belly. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but don't tell him. Jesse and I will hold down the Garage. Mia will cover the counter. Your new pall Uncky Sam'll get the mortgage. We know you're gonna be here, so it's not like you're abandoning us. Maybe it won't be an issue."  
  
I let them talk me out of it. I wrote it all down in the books for Dom- I told him the truth there even if I didn't when I went to visit him...  
  
We almost pulled it off. It was hell, but for two years I was all I could be and more.  
  
It wouldn't have been an issue if Dom had served his whole term. But he got out early. 


	22. Welcome Back

Don't own them. Don't sue.

A/N-   Thanks for the reviews- keep them coming!

          You may notice that my spelling is a bit… Commonwealth at the moment.  Forgive me.  When in Rome and all that.

          Also- I haven't watched 2F2F and don't plan to.  That may be come clear later on. 

          I'd left my cell at home while I was in the field.  Didn't think I'd need it.  Couldn't use it in the Dessert while doing manoeuvres so what good would it have been, right? 

          I wish I'd taken it with me if only so I could have checked my messages.  Maybe then I could have prepared myself for the shit hitting the fan.

          Leon and I were both discharged that day so he'd given me a ride home.  By now the Fort was home and the Team was family.  Over the last two years Leon had become part of our little band of merry men.  He'd hung out with us a lot and since he was a pretty good mechanic Jesse and Vince had taken to him pretty good. 

          Imagine my surprise when I saw Dom standing on the porch.  He had a beer in one hand and a girl in the other.

          "Fuck. Oh- what the- HELL no.  You have **GOT **to be kidding me."    I punched the dashboard as we pulled in to the driveway. 

          "Isn't that Dom?  Who's the chick?"  Leon asked turning off the engine.

         "Road kill."  This could not be happening.  Not now, not like this.  She's going to die.  I'm going to kill her.

          Leon put her hand on my arm as I made to jump out.  "Letty, chill girl.  It might not be what it looks like."

          The bitch chose that moment to put her hands in Dom's back pockets and press herself against him.  That was something only I was supposed to do now.  I wanted to die.

          I puked instead.  All over the interior of Leon's ride.  After the first two sets, it was mostly dry heaves but it was still humiliating.

          Leon didn't say anything; he just sat there and rubbed my back till I was done.  When I finally composed myself he handed me a handkerchief and a breath mint. 

"At least you didn't get any on you.  Wouldn't want to let the road kill get a whiff of you before you had a chance to cold clock her."

          I laughed just a little.  "Thanks Lee."

          "I've been meaning to get new floor mats anyway."  Leon winked and brushed the hair out of my face.  "There.  Good as new.  Now go kick some ass."

          I nodded and got out of the car and walked up the driveway with my duffle over my shoulder.  Instead of using the duffle to knock the whore flat on her ass like I wanted to, I ignored them and went straight for the door.

          Dom steps in my way as I reach for the handle.  "Where do you think you're going?  You don't belong here." 

          I look up at him.  My heart is racing and breaking and racing and breaking and its all I can do to hold it together.  "Move or I'll help you move," I sneer at him.  It seems like a ridiculous comment as he's put on a hell of a lot of muscle over the last two years.

          He laughs, not believing I have it in me.  Between the extra weight and the shaved head he looks like a different person from the one I married.  He's acting like one too.

          I drop my bag to my right with a sigh.  I don't bother to look at him as I deliver a  swift kick that sweeps him over to my left.  He falls with a thud.  It's not much, but it's satisfying. 

          I hear a laugh from within the house.  "Told you she'd kick your ass." 

         "Shut the fuck up Vince."  Dom roars, jumping up.  He grabs my left arm hard as I'm about to walk inside.  "That was cute.  You got lucky.  Once.  It ain't gonna happen again."

          I look at his hand and then at him.  "Unless you want to look like a pussy in front of your punta, I suggest you get your hands off me right now." 

          "Let her go Dom."  Mia is behind the screen door looking like she's torn between us.  I almost feel sorry for her. 

          Dom swears and drops my arm.  His bitch quickly steps up next to him and wraps herself around him.  He smirks and kisses her head then takes a swig of his beer.

          I walk past them and roll my eyes.  Leon follows me in.  Mia gives me a quick hug and leads me to the kitchen.  I'm trying hard not to cry but I feel like I've just had my heart ripped out thru my throat.

          "When?"  It's only one word but it was almost impossible to utter.  Leon helps me into a seat and starts giving me a massage.

          "Right after you shipped out.  Mia tried to call you but we couldn't get through."  Far from being as unaffected by this as he originally sounded,  Vince looks green. 

          "Who'da thought he'd get out of hell before I would?"  I laugh at myself.  Everything I've done- these last three years were make pretend. 

          "You're out now babe, that's all that matters."  Leon speaks softly.  I wonder if he knows that loud noises or sudden movements might make me hurl again.    "That her BMW out there Mia?"

          "Unfortunately," Mia sniggers.  "Girl can't drive for shit but it's hers."  She hands me a beer which I press to my forehead and temple. 

          Leon gives me a quick squeeze and a fat kiss on the cheek.  "I'll be right back."  He's laughing as he heads to the back door. 

          "Where you going?" Vince calls out.  When he doesn't get a reply he asks us, "Where's he going?"

          I shrug.  I don't have the energy to explain what I think is happening.  "Where's Jesse?"

          "He moved out.  He's at Adriane's."  Mia sits next to me.  "He goes postal anytime Dom has a – friend around."  She pauses letting a small smile form.  "He actually kicked three of them out of the garage and tried to kick Dom's ass."

          "Good boy."  My head weighs a thousand pounds.  All I want to do is put it down on the table but I can't.  My pride alone keeps it raised high. 

          "It woulda been if Jesse had won."  Vince grabs himself a beer from the fridge and sits down across from me.  "But at least Dom took a hint after that.  This is the first time since Jesse flipped his shit that one's even made it past the mail box." 

          "What, did you tell him I was coming home today?"  From the guilty looks on their faces I realize that was exactly what had happened.  "Typical."

          Leon walks back in.  He's got a huge ass grin on his face. 

          I look at him and instantly know what he did.  "You didn't."

          "Fuck yeah I did.  I figured if the bitch wants your cast offs, I'd donate some more of 'em to her on your behalf."  He grabbed a beer of his own and took the last place at the table.  "Don't go thinking I've gone soft or shit.  You still owe me new floor mats." 

          I laughed despite the fact my life was ruined.  "How long do you think it'll take before she screams?" 

          Leon shrugs.  "Put it in the back seat so God only knows when she finds it."

          Before Mia and Vince can get clued in Dom enters the room.  Bastard never did just walk in like normal people do.  He enters.   

          "Who the fuck are you?" Dom asks looking at Leon.

          "I didn't ask who your guest was Torretto, don't ask who mine is."  I say it all like it's no big thing.  I still want to kill them both.

          "I live here.  You don't."  Dom grabs a fresh beer and pops the top off effortlessly.  I hate that this is so easy for him.  FUCK that.

          "So it's like that?  I'm not here the _moment_ you get out and now I'm out of the house and your life?"  I stand up slowly and notice that the others are slowly edging out of the room.  Smart move.  "You're kicking me out of the house for which I paid the mortgage the last two years while you were in Club Fed?"

          "Cut the crap Leticia."  Dom's voice is deadly calm.  "You had one job.  You were supposed to be here.  That was the one thing I asked you to do-"

          "Fuck you Dom.  One job my ASS!  I had to keep the garage running, the grocery stocked, AND the mortgage paid so that Mia would have a house to sleep in and food on the table.  That's not one job Dominic."

          "We had insurance money to pay for all-"

          "MY ASS we did.  Lawyers cost money Dominic.  Surgeons cost money.  Fucking settlements to fucking cripples cost money."  I kick the chair out from behind me.  It flies across the room, the sound of the metal banging on the tiled floors is like nails on a chalkboard.  "By the time you walked into Lompoc we were 25 THOUSAND dollars nt he hole."

          "How was I supposed to know any of this if you didn't fucking _tell me_."  Dom is screaming back at me now.  Good.  "I walk in here six fucking weeks ago and you weren't here.  I find out that you haven't really been here like you said you were since pretty much the day I walked out.  You've been lying to me for two years and I fucking trusted you Letty.  I put my little sister's life in your hands and all you managed to do was get her to lie to me too."

          "That's all huh?  So I suppose the fact that I made her stay in school and graduated with honours even though she wanted to drop out and help around the store really didn't have anything to do with me.  She staid in, she made straight As.  Graduated and shit.  She fucking went to her prom in a goddamn limo Dom.  **I** didn't get to go to prom.  Not only did I make sure she had fucking everything, I made sure she had the best.  She had the best car, the best cell phone out of all of us.  If she needed me and I wasn't here Dom she could call me.  She knew that.  I was never more than three hours away."

          "That's not the fucking POINT!"  Dom threw his beer across the room.  "I trusted you!  You fucking lied to me.  You had Mia and Vince lie to me too.  For TWO YEARS."

          I stare at him shell shocked.  We're both shaking.  I take a deep breath and shake my head.  "I'm sorry you feel that way.  It's obvious you don't want me here.  Tell Mia I'll be at my moms."  Grabbing my duffle I walk out of the kitchen.  "Leon, Let's Go!"  I call over my shoulder as the door slams behind me.

          I wish I could tell you I let Dominic Torretto rot in hell and went on with my life.  Obviously that wasn't what happened.  I made it to my mom's house.  I walked upstairs into my old room.  I staid there for four days.  When I couldn't stop crying after a few hours Leon had my mom call a doctor.  He prescribed a sedative strong enough to kill a horse.  I woke up crying six hours later.  I spent those next days in bed alternating between sobbing and sedation. 

          Welcome Back.  Welcome Back, welcome back, welcome back. 


	23. What's Next?

On the fourth day I woke up and realized that Dom wasn't going to be able to make things all better because he **_was_** the problem.

I got out of bed, looking and feeling like shit. Standing in front of my dresser mirror, I took the wedding ring off the chain around my neck. I held the gold band in my hand for a moment, staring at it. The anger built up in me till I had to drop the ring in my old jewelry box and slam the cover shut.

I took a 45 minute shower which was only ten times as long as the showers I usually took. It took a lot of time to try to scrub away the pain and hurt. When I was done I got dressed and walked downstairs.

Leon was sitting at the table talking with my family. Even Tia was there with her baby. Guilt sliced through me- I must have scared everyone if they called in my aunt.

"Hey," I said simply, opening the fridge.

"You hungry?" Mama asked, her voice carefully devoid of too much concern.

I shrug and push some of the food in the fridge around, looking for something that appealed to me. "I could eat." Glancing at the clock I see that it's 11 in the morning. "Maybe we can go to Adrian's for lunch."

Leon nods, "Sure thing kid."

Tia stands up and checks on the baby, then turns and grins at me. "What, no hug for your favorite Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Hua," I say softly, raising my can of diet coke to her in a mock salute. I give her a quick squeeze. "Who'd a thought I'd be taking orders this soon after getting my freedom back."

Leon laughs as Tia gives me a swat.

"What?" I ask, playing it all innocent.

Mama grabbed me then and gave me a big hug. If you just walked into our lives today you'd say it was out of nowhere. But if you knew… well. Trying to reassure her I hug her back.

"I'm going to be okay Mama. And I'll deffinetly be hella better after I eat something. The last thing I ate was an MRE for christ's sake."

"Well, let's go then." Abuella hands me my purse. God I love my family.

Giving her a quick hug aw we walk out to the cars I pinch her cheek. "So bossy. Is that a perk of being old? You get to tell everyone what to do?"

My grandmother snorts. "You're pretty bossy yourself. Where do you think you got ti from mija?"

Since we couldn't all fit in one car, Tia drove her SUV taking mom, abuela and the baby with her while Leon and I took his car. I turned the radio on high as we got in so I wouldn't have to talk to him about the last few days. Chicken shit, I know.

I managed to avoid the topic through most of lunch as well. Of course avoidance would have been better achieved if we went someplace where Dom hadn't slugged the owner's son. Just my luck- Adrian walked in with his mom just as our waiter was bringing us our drinks.

The boy lit up like a candle when he saw me. You know, the way Dom should have.

"Letty!" he calls out walking over to our table.

"Hey Adrian." Standing up I give him an awkward hug. "How've you been?"

"Good. Jesse said you got out this week right?" Adrian waves hello to everyone, but his focus remains on me. Remind me again why I chose Dom over this boy who still worships me three years after the two weeks we went out?

"Yeah. It's kinda weird. Age, this is my friend Leon. We were in the same squad. HE got out with me on Monday."

Leon leans across the table and gave Adrain one of those macho hand shakes. "You're Jesse's cousin right? He helped design the kit on my car. Boy is a wizard."

Adrian laughs and nods. "Yeah, he's got mad skills. Listen, since you and Letty just got out, please enjoy yourselves today. Whatever you all want, it's on the house. That goes for all of you." Adrian gestures across the table to my mother and the rest of my family.

"Thanks man, you don't have to do that." I say giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're too good to us Adrian."

Adrian beams with pride but plays it somewhat cool. "It's the least we can do. You've done more for Jesse than you ever needed to. One meal could hardly cover our debt to you."

I waive off his protests. "He's a great mechanic, he's been a real asset."

Adrian laughs, then changes the subject. "Jesse and I are going to check out this new club down on the Ave. tonight. If the two of you want to join us, my cousin Jaime is the bouncer & he can get us all the hook up."

I look at Leon. He shrugs. "I'll call Jesse later and let him know what we decide Age. I'm not sure that we'll make it, but thanks for the invite- and lunch of course." I give him another hug and kiss on the cheek.

Until Monday I'd always assumed Dom had been the right choice. But right now- I could be safe with Adrian, you know?

Anyways after Adrian walks away Abuela starts giving me a lecture in Spanish. I'm pretty sure the only person who didn't understand the conversation was Leon.

"What are you doing going out with that boy? What about Dominic? You already have a man or have you forgotten your marriage vows?" What a temper. Obviously bossiness wasn't the only quality I inherited from her.

"Grandma, he made it pretty clear how things stand," I say pushing the food on my plate around and feeling about 2 years old.

"You took a vow- you swore before God that-"

"Alright. I get it okay?" I say, cutting her off before she could get loud enough for everyone in the tables outside to hear her.

Leon takes a sip of his coke and nudges me in the shoulder. "I take it we aren't going today?"

Rolling my eyes I give him one of those half nods- half sneers that I do when I'm unimpressed. "You think?"

A few minutes pass before my mom starts in. "So what are your plans now?" It's like musical nagging with these women.

"**MOM**. I whine, not ready for any of this.

"Look, you can stay with me as long as you like, you both can. But I just want to know what your plans for the future are."

"Well, now that I have no job, I'm going to have to find one, won't I?" I put my fork down and hold my head in my hands. All this reality shit has given me a migraine.

"The garage on Seaside is hiring," Leon says.

I nod like I'm thinking about it, when really the last thing I want to do for a while is work for someone else in their garage. "I guess I could work there. Hector and his crew like them. But I could probably make better money if I worked at LAX."

"I told you that air craft engine certification would come in handy," Leon smirks.

"Was that before or after you dropped out of the class so you could spend more time playing pool?" I take a sip of my coke and drill my fingers on the table top. "Anyway, what I really want to do right now is get away fro a little while. Go somewhere I don't have to think about… everything."

Before my grandmother can attack me, I hold up my hands in self defense. "I know, I know. Can't just run away from the problem. But he's had six weeks to decide he hates me. I've had four days to get used to it."

"Where do you want to go?" my aunt asks.

I shrug. "I haven't been back to Puerto Rico in forever. I thought maybe I'd go chill in San Juan or something."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," my mom says. "Put your application in with LAX and then go. If you get an open ticket you can stay till they call you or till you feel like coming home. I've heard it can take weeks for those people to get back to you."

Even though he's on my side, Leon isn't about to let me forget all my responsibilities. "What about Jesse and Mia and Vince? You gonna say goodbye to them before we go?"

I can't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "We?"

"You heard me. Someone's gotta watch out for you," Leon says through a mouth full of food. "You ain't getting rid of me that easy. Sides, you owe me some floor mats. I'm not gonna let you skip town till your debt's paid."

Laughing I launch my balled up napkin at him. "Whatever." I bite my lip and shrug again. "Yeah I'll call them before we go. Probably a good idea to stop by the house when the pendejo is out. If he hasn't thrown my stuff already that is."

Leon hands me his phone. "Let's do this thing."

Wordlessly I take it and head outside. Dialing I take a deep breath.

"Hello?"

"Hey. How you livin?" I have to wince when I hear my voice. It's so soft- I sound weak.

I hate that.

"Letty Thank God. Are you okay? I let him have it after you left. I' so sorry he was such a prick. He's my brother but I want to kill him sometimes."

"Mia-" I break in. "Chill. I'm just calling to see if the coast is clear. I want to pick up my shit." I cut in before she sweeps me up in her whirlwind- I have to or else I'll crack.

I hear Mia swear on the other end. "You're moving out?" She sounds so close to tears.

This is my fault. Somehow- Damn it. This is all my fault.

"You can't do that Let," Mia pleads. "This is your home too. I know that. You know that. Fuck, Dom knows that too, even if he is being a prick."

"Mia…" Fuck. "I can't be there right now. Just tell me if he's there or not."

"He's out right now." Her voice cracks. I'm a horrible person for causing her this pain. She's been through enough.

"If he gets back before I get there call Leon's cell. Mine's still at your place." I hang up without saying goodbye. I can't say that word yet. Goodbye. It's just… so final.


	24. Chapter 24

Hey everybody. Thanks for the reviews. Sorry I can't make everyone happy. I've actually finished writing the story out- just got to type and post. Anyways here's the next instalment. Hope you enjoy!

BTW - nothings changed- FATF still don't belong to me. I'm just playin with them.

Leon and I spent the drive over to the Fort discussing our would-be trip to Puerto Rico. It isn't exactly true that Leon can't speak Spanish. He knows like a half dozen phrases, but none of them should be repeated in polite company. It took me the whole ride there, but I made him swear on the slips to his car that he would not try to use any of them while we were out there.

I swear, I worry about being seen in public with him sometimes.

When we pull in to the driveway Vince & Jesse are pacing it.

"Ahh. She's called in reinforcements," Leon observes as we get out of the car.

"Shit," I swear under my breath. Just what I need. More sympathy ridden lectures about how to lead my life. How quickly these bustas forget that I was the one holding their heads when they came home from hitting the strip clubs with Hector. (Of course it was in these clubs that they taught Leon shit he should never ever have heard.)

I don't have much time to brace myself for the attack. Jesse immediately runs up and practically jumps on me in his eagerness to envelope me in a hug.

"Jesse, get off me man. I can't breath."

"Adrian called and said you were at the restaurant. I was about to go over there when Mia called. Where've you been? I've been going out of my mind worrying about you." Releasing me from his death grip Jesse takes a quick look over me, sees that I'm okay and gives me a shove. "Don't pull that disappearing act shit again!"

I would have laughed, except Jesse's face and hands looked like he'd put them through a meat grinder.

"You take Dom on again?" I ask, hoping the stupid kid's answer would be no.

"Fuck yeah I did." Jesse stands up straighter and nods over to Vince. "Me and the Coyote did some damage."

I feel about two inches tall right now. There's no way it went as well as Jesse is trying to make it sound like it did. If I smoked, this would be a good time for a cancer stick cause I already want to die.

"You gonna give me a lecture too Vince?"

He laughs and shakes his head. He's got a black eye and bruised knuckles too. Guess they both went to bat pretty hard core this time. He sees me looking at his war wounds and plays it all macho.

"You should see Dom. I swear me and Jesse cracked at least three of his ribs. And if you ever take him back, FYI, you're gonna need to buy your kids cause ain't no way he's gonna be able to provide you any. I think we mighta ruptured one of his balls."

It's too funny, I have to laugh. It's a weird feeling right now, but it feels good. For the first time since I left here on Monday, I feel close to my old self.

Mia's standing on the porch watching all of us. I throw an arm around each of my brave bruised and battered knights and head up to see her.

I listen to the boys give Leon the play by play and about how they took the might Dom and brought him low. It warms the heart, really it does.

"Mia," I say softly as I pull her into a hug.

"Letty, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. You should have told him like you-" She starts crying.

Christ.

"Hush now," I say, rubbing her back. "We all make our own decisions, even me and Dom. I could have told him if I wanted to Mia. You're not the boss of me, remember?"

I think about the Journals that I kept for Dom. I was supposed to give him those the day you got out. That's how I'd planned on telling him everything. I don't know what I'll do with them now.

I sigh and look at my team, my family. God I've missed them.

A voice in the back of my head whispers that if Dom ever forgives me I can come home to them. If he doesn't, another voice says, this may be the last time you see them.

I bet schizophrenics aren't crazy when the voices start, they just get that way from listening to the what-ifs and shit all day long.

I shake it off only to be assaulted by guilt. Vince took on his best friend of 15 years. Jesse took on a man twice his size. They did it for me. Their blood is on my hands.

Mia puts her hand on my arm as I start up the stairs to the bedroom. "I need to warn you Letty, it looks like hell up there." She rubs her neck, just like Dom does when he's stressed. "He lost it when we told him you weren't' here when he got back. I tried to pick up a little, but it was just too depressing…"

I swallow and nod, trying to be strong for them. "At least we don't have to open all the drawers and empty them." I try to joke, but no one laughs. "Come on, let's just grab my shit and go. I want to go to the travel agent before it closes."

"You're going on a trip?" Vince asks, startled.

"Yeah. I'd been saving up for when… but Leon and I are going instead." I start to pick my clothes up and pile them on the bed.

"How'd you manage that? I thought we were broke," Jesse asks. Sometimes his ADHD basically gives him the balls to ask what other people want to but think is inappropriate.

When I didn't answer, Leon did. "She never went out. Seriously, I mean in the last two years, she never once said we should go out for anything, not even Inn & Out. Not a movie, not a beer, nothing. If we managed to drag her, she only went as our designated driver and would just have water." Leon pauses for a moment and I think I'm off the hook. Wrong.

"She tutored kids on base in Spanish, baby sat them too. She helped the newbies with their cars, painted pictures of their families for them to give their folks for gifts. She balanced their checkbooks for them every two weeks and did their taxes in April."

"Enough!" I say, cutting Leon off. "They get it."

"They should know what you did for them," Leon argues.

"It's not a big deal," I say as I stuff some of my crap into a bag. "And that wasn't for them, that stuff. That was for him. I wanted to take him on vacation after he got out." I stop talking cause it hurts to much and swallow down the pain as best I can. "But that's over now. I messed up. He ended it. We're not talking about it anymore."

All four of them started to protest, but I wasn't having it.

"It's none of your goddamn business, all right? So shut up already. I swear to God I'll take my frustrations out on the next one of you to open your mouth and say something even remotely related to this."

Vince looks away. He's not really sure what to say or do, I can tell.

Jesse's outraged. He's probably pissed that I said I was the one who messed up.

Mia is silently sympathetic. It's almost sweet, 'cept I know she has no idea what I've gone through for her and her brother so she just comes off as naiveté to me.

Leon looks… amused. Trust him to keep his sense of humor about this whole thing.

Feeling somewhat guilty for snapping at them, I try to explain. "I promised Dom I'd be here," I say softly. "And I wasn't, not the way I was supposed to be. He has a right to be mad." My hands start to tremble as I put more clothes into yet another bag.

Mia reaches out to me but I turn away. "The worst part is half the time I was away was 'cause I volunteered to be. I volunteered for those deployments. You get more money when you're in the field and it was easier. I didn't have to worry about the world beyond the four corners of whatever field I was in."

It takes me a little while before I can continue. I pick up some random tennis ball and start to grip it. "I just did it a couple of times, volunteer to go I mean. Mia got sick that last time remember? So I stopped." I can feel them staring at me.

"Letty, I had bronchitis. I missed three days of school. That was it- nothing bad happened." Mia is frowning as she says this. I've never really noticed before how she can look nothing like her brother and yet exactly like him at the same time.

"Yeah and you woulda missed more school if my mom hadn't been here to make you go to the doctor." I crack my neck and look from one baffled face to the next.

"Don't you get it?" God they're so fucking _slow_ sometimes. "That was supposed to be _my_ job. Me. I promised Dom. You coulda- no. It's over. I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get my shit and I'll be out of here."

"Letty, you worked at the garage at least 20 hours a week while you were home," Jesse says softly. "And that's on top of the time you put in with Leon on base. You made sure all of us were safe, and sane and shit, and that goes for Leon too. But we didn't do shit for you Let. How can you blame yourself when we didn't-"

"Jesse shut up already okay? That wasn't your job," I bark. "I was supposed to look after Mia. I was supposed to be here. That was my one fucking job." I snarl, beaming a mirror across the room with the tennis ball.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I know it's me but- without Dom- I just- I don't know who I am anymore. Surprisingly it isn't cracked. The only thing that's cracked in here is me. I shake my head in disgust and grab as much as my stuff as I can carry and head toward the car.

"This isn't right," Mia sighs. "Dom is being an asshole. You shouldn't leave Letty. You've done more for us than he has."

"He's my boy Let, but she's right." Vince says from somewhere behind me.

"I lied to him. He trusted me. I fucked up." I rub my eyes angrily, trying desperately not to let the tears flow. "I don't want to go through this again."

After I've loaded everything I brought down into Leon's car, I watch as the four of them do the same. I know they've carried everything we've packed today down.

Now all that's left are the journals.

Without telling them where I'm going, I head up to the master bedroom. As soon as I open the door it's pretty obvious that Dom's moved in here. His stuff is all over the place. It's so messy it's as if he doesn't even have a closet.

Ah that could be a good thing. If he isn't using the closet than he hasn't seen the journals. Fantastic.

I go into the closet and pull down the box. There are five of them in there, all full of my secret thoughts, all with pictures and drawings depicting the last two years. My life is in these books.

"What are you doing in here?"

I freeze. Dom.

I turn and face him, my hands full. "I didn't hear your car."

"Tamara dropped me off. We had to go to Harry's to get new floor mats. Seems someone puked on hers." Dom stands in the doorway, his arms crossed, looking larger than life. God he's handsome as sin.

"How sad," I say, unable to keep the smirk off my face. "She had to have you help her with that? Princess couldn't handle?"

"She needs me," Dom replies, walking in to the room. "It's nice to be needed."

"Funny, I thought I was needed once," I spit out. I want to run past him but I'm frozen in place. "It's over rated."

Dom doesn't bother with a response. Instead he stands directly in front of me and asks, "What are you doing in here?" We're so close that the box is the only thing between us.

He leans forward and his abs brush my fingers. "Hmmm? You haven't answered my question."

"I came to get my stuff." It takes all my will not to shut my eyes and just breath him in.

"Your stuff was in the other room. That's why I moved in here." Dom's voice is harsh and angry.

"This is mine too." I nod down at the box. I make my feet move around him. Just barely.

"Looks important." He touches the books, making me flinch.

"Don't," I say before I can stop myself, pulling away from him.

"What? If they were so important why didn't you take them with you when you left the first time?" Dom follows me as I walk toward the door.

I stare at him I the mirror, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his eyes and the bruising on his arms and face. His nose is swollen and his lip is split.

"Jesse and Vince do that to you?" I ask, avoiding his question.

"You avoiding my questions?" Trust Dom to pick up all the shit I don't want him to.

"Not like you were around to make me answer your question. How'd you get out early anyway? Can't have been for good behavior considering you're more of an asshole now than you were before we got together. What's a matter? Princess not dropping it for you?" Words pour out of me. I want him to hurt like I hurt.

"Oh she's on her knees for me all the time kid, don't you worry. You should ask her for some tips. Leon'll probably thank me for introducing you to her." He's so matter of fact. It's like I never meant shit to him.

I look at him in shock, dropping the box on the floor. I can't stop the strangled cry from escaping. He looks so fucking _satisfied_. Fuck THAT.

"I hate you!" I scream at him in Spanish, hurling one of the albums at him. "I fucking hate you!" I run at him and start to pummel him with my fist. "I did everything for you. I gave up everything for you."

I hear him calling my name, telling me to stop but I can't. I'm so fucking angry, I've never been this angry before. I feel him take my arms and pin me to the wall so I can't hit him anymore, but by now I'm crying so hard I can't fight back.

He says my name over and over again in my ear, trying to calm me down but all I can do, all I can say is just repeat myself. "I gave you everything."

He whispers something in that fierce growl of his. I can feel it on my neck, but the meaning of the words themselves never enter my consciousness the way they should.

"I know. I know Mira. Calm down Letty. Calm down. I know baby. Shhh. Mira, calm down."

Suddenly his lips are on mine and my arms are around his neck. For the first time in almost three years our bodies share what we've denied them. Our bodies scream all that we've refused to even whisper. We need each other.

It was hardly making love. It was angry and desperate. We didn't think, couldn't- the rawness of it all was overwhelming.

When it was over Dominic and I just stood there, tangled together, both leaning against the wall for support. I could feel him in me and realized we hadn't used a condom. Oh god. I haven't been on the Pill since he went in.

I groan and push him off me, trying to pull my clothes back into place. "This- we shouldn't have done this, not like this."

"You weren't so picky five minutes ago." I can tell by his tone that I've said the wrong thing.

"You know what I mean Dom." I run my hand thru my hair. It's a mess, just like everything else. "We could have gotten an annulment."

"You're worried about _that_ right now?" Dom laughs in disbelief. "Jesus Letty, you're a good liar, just act like it didn't happen. Hiding the truth should be no problem."

"I didn't know they made soap boxes big enough for you to fit on. Your damn ego is so damn big I woulda thought it was impossible. People who live in glass whore houses shouldn't throw stones. You went out and broke your vows the second you could."

I took a deep breath. "Look, this isn't why I came here. And that stuff about the annulment, that's not what I meant to say. We obviously… we're fucked up Dom. Both of us."

"No shit," He says rubbing his neck. "But you running away to Puerto Rico with another man isn't going to solve our problems."

I feel a wave of shame wash over me. He's right, but I don't give him a response. I pick up the box I'd abandoned earlier and head for the door.

"It's not running away when you pushed me away first." My voice is raw, my emotions exposed. "I don't trust you. You don't trust me. I don't know how to fix that."

I leave, not waiting for him to answer.

The team is sitting around the living room playing one of their half dozen racing games. The music up pretty high and one look from Leon let's me know that it was for my benefit that they were assaulting their eardrums.

Box in hand I head for the front door, causing a worried Mia to pause the game. "You're not staying?" Obviously she thought things were better now that Dom and I had… released some frustration.

I shake my head. "Nothing's changed Mi."

Vince casts a look upstairs, obviously worried about Dom. "How long you gonna be out of town?"

"Don't know. A couple of weeks maybe. I'll call when I'm back." I put the box down and give each of them a hug. It's not like me to be this mushy but I feel like I have to. Just in case.

"You keep things under control while I'm gone, kay Vince?"

He laughs. "Don't I always?"

I roll my eyes, thinking of the time I had to wire Jesse money to bail Vince out of jail.

"Whatever. Look. I gotta go now so, for real. You guys take care of each other."

They nod. Maybe they know if they say anything I'll break down. Who knows.

Picking up that damn box once again I head out.

Leon drives the car down to my house and we unload 2 years worth of crap in 20 minutes before rushing down to get our tickets.

By noon the next day we're on a plane to San Juan and my application to LAX is in the mail.

On the flight over I try not to think about whether Dom and I are going to have yet another thing to argue about in nine months. Even though I'm pro choice, there's enough catholic left in me that I can't bring myself to think about taking a morning after pill.

Please God, I pray, please. Tell me that the beating from Vince and Jesse left Dom sterile like they said it would.


	25. Chapter 25

_-Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! I appreciate it! I'd forgotten how much I love reviews. If you like what you're reading, could you review please? I'd love to hear from you._

We drove up the coast in some shit rental. The timing was off, the shocks were shot and the paint job was for naught. Well, at least we'd have something to play with during our little vacation.

By the time we got to the resort that some distant cousin had recommended it was sunset. It was weird to have the sun set over mountains. Different. But different was going to have to be good enough from now on.

It _was _beautiful. Three weeks flew by.

I managed to stay busy enough to keep my fears and regrets at bay for most of the day.

Its amazing how tuning up the rental, visiting family, dancing till six in the morning, or doing nothing while plied with alcohol can lull you into numbness.

The best part was sleeping in late. I haven't had a chance to do that since before my dad's stroke. Since then I'd been up early for paper routes, school, or some sort of p.t.- be it self imposed or on the strong suggestion of tio sam.

This was my first real vacation. Ever.

I was almost enjoying it. If it was Dom with me and not Leon I woulda been over the moon.

But that was over.

And I was getting used to that. I was.

On day 24 I was laying out, catching up on some sleep. Having already had two mojitos I was feeling pretty good for three in the afternoon. In my dreams I was here with Dom. I could smell him, feel him staring at me, feel his love for me.

I felt the sand shift and a shadow fall over me. Without the sun to warm my body my warm tinglys began to fade.

"Leon man, you're blocking the sun. Why don't you go flirt with the blond chick over by the bar," I groaned, blinking up at the tall figure.

The shadow knelt down next to me. "It looks like he's already up on that."

"Shit." I swear and turn over quickly holding my top across my chest.

"You always undo your straps like that?" Dom asks as I struggle to retie them.

"I don't want tan lines." I can't make my fingers work and it takes me three times as long as it should to finish securing the flimsy material.

"What are you doing here Dominic?"

"Mia kicked me out of the house. Told me not to come back till I brought you with me." He kicks the sand with his feet, not looking at me. He's wearing a white dress shirt and khakis. As always he's beautiful. Bastard.

"Jesse started taking martial arts and boxing lessons. He's been lifting weights since I got back. Every few days he uses my ass as a punching bag for practice. He's getting lethal.

"And Vince?" I ask almost laughing.

"He went to work at Harry's. Says he can't work for someone so stupid."

"That's a mighty insult coming from Vince," I say somberly.

"No shit." Dom laughs. For a moment we're smiling at each other.

I nudge him and ask quietly. "For real man. What are you doing here?"

"I missed you." His voice cracks, which makes him blush. "We need to talk." He looks at me like he's actually seeing me. "I said some stuff I shouldn't have. I did some stuff I know I shouldn't have."

"Some stuff or some people?" I ask, holding his gaze.

"Letty," Dom says in that voice that sounds like a kid who just got caught doing something.

"You came here to talk Dom. We gotta talk."

"We don't need to talk about that."

I start to stand up and he pulls me back down.

"Shit Let, what do you want me to tell you? How many there were? Do you want me to fucking rate them for you? Tell you how they tried all this freaky shit but they weren't you and it pissed the shit out of me that they weren't?"

I look at him and twist away. "I already know how they rate. You made it clear I can't compete. If I could then there wouldn't have been anyone else, no matter what you say now."

"I didn't mean what I said that day Letty." His voice is so sad that what's left of my heart breaks again.

He'd been looking at me with those puppy dog eyes, but now he looks down at the sand. "It's twisted as shit, but I only did what I did because I was hurting and fucked up and shit. I was pissed that you lied and that you didn't need me. I guess I thought that if you really didn't need me then I'd prove I didn't need you the one way I knew would hurt you."

No wonder he couldn't meet my eyes.

I rub my forehead and just sit there for a minute. "It did hurt Dominic. It still does. Congradu-fucking-lations. Seeing you together. Knowing even then that you had me see you with another girl on purpose."

"When I found out you'd lied to me it was like you cut off my balls. You didn't trust me to be man enough to handle the truth. I changed for you Letty. I changed to be what you wanted but even that wasn't enough for you so I thought… fuck it, why bother? So I changed back."

Dom shrugs off the bag he'd brought with him and pulls out two cold ones. He opens the first and hands it to me, then opens one for himself.

"So you did the one thing you knew would hurt me the most?" I say, parroting back to him his words. "I _should_ cut off your fucking balls." I take a swig and look him dead in the eye. "**I** did what **I** did to protect **you**."

"That's not exactly true Letty," he says slowly taking my hand.

I stare at him uncomprehending.

"I read the journals." He rubs my hand, holding it tightly even when I try to pull away. "You left the one you threw at me. So I read it. I remembered that you had a whole box of them so I went to your mom's and found them."

"You weren't supposed to read those. I took them back on purpose." I sound about six years old. Great. "You're not the man I wrote them for. Not anymore, not after what you did."

He ignores me and continues in a soft voice. "You wrote everything down. All the things I was pissed at you for not telling me- you wrote all of it down. You were going to tell me. I know that now. But you let them talk you out of telling me about the Army. You remember why you let them do that?" He knows but he won't say it.

I close my eyes and rest my head on my knees. "Dom let it go."

"Just say it Letty. Why can't you tell me yourself?" Dom puts his hands on my shoulder and starts to rub. Instead of releasing tension it just stresses me out more.

"Dom- Quit man. I don't owe you anything more. I gave you all I had." I try to brush him off with one hand while I chug the rest of the beer down with the other.

"You gave me your strength Letty but did you ever stop and think that what I needed then was your vulnerability?" He kisses me between my shoulder blades. "I still need you. Your passion, your strength, and your vulnerability."

I feel the tears start to form behind my eyes. "You fucking broke my heart Dominic. And you did it on purpose." Now it's my voice that cracks and I start to shake. "And now you come here and want me to tell you how much you meant to me? You want me to open up and show you just how much it hurts? Why, so you can put salt in my wounds? No thank you."

"Letty, what I did with those girls, I was wrong and I apologize," Dom says pulling me onto his lap despite my struggles. "I'm sorry Mira."

"No. No more fucking Spanish. You don't get to speak Spanish to me no more." I try to push him away but he's just so strong and the fight in me is so weak. I don't want to win. I don't want him to go away again.

"Porque?" Dom whispers in my ear making me shiver as he uses his left hand to stroke my right shoulder. He continues speaking the language of my soul knowing that it's the only way to coax his way back into it. "I studied everyday of those two years I was away just so I could surprise you. Because I love you."

He kisses my neck and I shiver not with anger but with a different kind of frustration.

It clicks in my head what was different that day three weeks ago in the bedroom. He was speaking Spanish. The fucker actually learned Spanish. For me.

"Dom." I turn around in his lap to face him, crying but not sobbing. The big fat alligator tears roll down the side of my face and onto my chest.

"Si mi amore?" He kisses my forehead softly.

That stupid part of me that never stopped loving him starts to swell again. I can't-

"If you mean that. If you honestly still love me, even just a little, you'll let me go now. I can't do this. It hurts too much."


	26. What We Need, Part I

**_A/N_**_: Originally this series was inspired by music, but it took on a life of it's own. I'd hear a song and think, gee- I could see Dom & Letty in that music video. While the story isn't really a song fic, I've lifted more lyrics and inserted them through out. Anyways today's inspiration came from various parts of the __Dawson__'s Creek Soundtrack. (The first one.) _

Dom jerked back. "You're not serious." He's shocked. He didn't come all this way thinking I'd say no.

"Dominic _Please._" I rest my head against his and start crying in earnest now. The fact that I'm not trying to physically distance myself from him makes it more real to both of us that I mean what I'm saying.

"I love you too much to go through this bull shit anymore. It's killing me," I whimper.

He holds me tight and rubs my back, rocking me like a child when I start to pound on his chest half heartedly.

Just when I think it can't get any worse than this it starts to pour.

For some reason Dom thinks this is hilarious. He stands up, pulling me with him. Brushing my tears away he kisses the bridge of my nose and holds my head in his hands.

"C'mon. Where are you staying?"

I point to my cabana.

With that big smile still on his face he picks me up like he did all those years ago and takes off running for shelter. When we reach the lanai he shifts my weight so that he carries me over the threshold the way he would have if this had been our honeymoon.

The rain is warm, but we're both soaking wet. I'm not wearing anything but a rather revealing bikini and I know I should feel utterly ridiculous, but instead I feel… safe. Dom makes me less certain than I had been just a minute ago that this was a bad idea.

"Mi Corazon." He is stalking toward me slowly, closing this distance that has sprung up between us.

"Come on man." I try to reason with him. "This is crazy." I put my hands up to ward him off and back away.

He just smiles and unbuttons his wet shirt. Advancing. He rumbles with laughter when he sees me lick my lips as my eyes roam over his torso.

"We only hurt each other when we stay apart," Dom says as he backs me into the bathroom. "We belong together."

"You don't love me and I don't want this," I argue.

Dom shakes his head and turns on the light. "You love me."

I take a deep breath preparing to lie to him. My denial dies in my throat as the smell of roses fills my nostrils. What? How?

There is the most beautiful, inviting, perfect bubble bath waiting for us.

I frown trying to make sense of all this.

"I want you to see that I _can_ take care of you if you let me." Dom says as he pulls me into his arms. He kisses my lips so softly, asking permission to proceed.

I wrap my arms around him and kiss him back, reciprocating his tenderness. I know that logically speaking this is the last thing that we should be doing. I shouldn't- but for this moment I let him make the decisions.

Dom picks me up and slowly puts me in the whirlpool tub giving me time to adjust to the steamy water. He is careful not to splash water all over the place and that somehow melts my resolve further.

I watch as he stands up and undoes his pants. He's obviously hard for me but doesn't take off his boxers before stepping into the tub behind me.

"What are we doing Dominic?" I sigh as I make room for him.

I could tell he was smiling as he undid my bikini top and let it drop on the side of the tub.

"Well, first I'm going to scrub your back and every inch of your skin before I wash your hair. Then I'm going to take you back into the bedroom and give you a massage."

"I don't think we should- _Dios__ Mios."_ My protests disappear as Dom starts to scrub my back as promised. Its so good it feels better than any massage I've ever had.

"You like that huh?" Dom asks as he kisses my neck.

All I can do is whimper as my head lolls forward.

"For someone who's been on vacation for three and a half weeks you're pretty damn tense," Dom says in that gravely voice. "I guess the last three years has been pretty stressful for you, huh Mija?"

"I missed you." I whimper as he rubs my lower back. "I needed you with me so bad Dominic."

"I know that now. You did a good job mira. I just wish you'd told me what was happening when it was happening." Dom is being honest, but not accusatory.

"I couldn't. You had so much shit you had to deal with. I couldn't tell you how afraid I was. I promised you I would take care of everything but it was so goddamn hard. I was afraid I would disappoint you with the choices I made," I confess.

"See? Now why couldn't you just say that when I asked you on the beach? Why do you gotta be tough all the time?" Dom kisses my neck. God I love him.

"That's why you kept the journal. So you could tell me everything."

My regrets start to fill my eyes and stream down my cheeks. "I wanted you to feel like you were there with us. Shit I wanted to feel like you were with me."

Dom turns me around and pushes me back against eh other end of the tub. He places one hand on each side of my hips and took eth edge of my bottoms in his fingers. Even though I'm almost twenty now I fell like I'm fifteen again.

He gives me a reassuring smile and I lift my hips up as he pulls my bottoms off of me.

I look into his eyes and ask him something that's been bothering me for longer than I care to admit. "Why didn't you want me? Before you went to Lompoc? We haven't made love since before Palmdale."

He stills and I can see that even his breathing has stopped for the moment.

"Was I not… what you wanted me to be? Even then?" So much for being strong.

"Baby no. That's not it at all."

"Then what Dom? Because I want to know, even if I won't like the answer."

Dom doesn't say anything at first. "I didn't want to at first. And then I beat the shit out of Linder. When you stood by me, I knew you loved me but I didn't want to hurt you. I felt like this dirty animal. There were a couple of times when we'd start kissing and shit but I couldn't/ I felt dirty next to you, like I was polluting you. I couldn't even you know… so I stopped trying."

I suppose I should have been relieved that it wasn't me back then that had turned him off. But I wasn't. I was pissed. "So two years ago you weren't good enough to touch me. But somehow since then while you were in Club Fed and I was trying to hold your world together for you I fell off that pedestal long enough for you to go fuck some whores and then do me without a condom?!"

I get out of the tub and spit in his face. "I'm your fucking wife Dom," I hiss. "You were supposed to forsake all others, not forsake me for all others."

Stalking out of the bathroom I slam the bathroom door closed behind me.

Behind me I hear Dom curse and follow after me. "Letty- I'm sorry. I fucked up. I've been putting myself thru hell for it. Please. I can't loose you over some mistake that I made that didn't even mean anything."

Dom's begging weirds me out and I cut him off before he can say anything more. "You kicked me out of our house because I didn't tell you the whole truth about how I was trying to help you. But you disrespected me in a way a thousand times worse than what I did to you," I rage as I put a terry cloth robe on and pace the room. "Why is it that I'm never enough for you goddamn it?"

"Don't put this all on me Let. We both made mistakes. You know I was fucked up," Dom said as he pulled boxers off and tossed them In the hamper. HE puts a robe on and sits down on the bed, watching me. "I came here to make things right between us Let, not to play this game of seesaw with my head. I won't play this part."

"Fuck you. This isn't a game Dominic, this is our lives!" I'm screaming once again. So much for having self control and a little dignity.

"I'll always know down in my soul we really had so far to go. I thought we'd have forever Dom, but now- I've given all I had to give and now it's time for **_me_** to live. I won't look back and I won't regret. It hurt's like hell but someday I'll forget."

"Letty," Dom chokes.

"Don't call me. Don't write. Don't show up in the middle of the night to say that you've been thinking. It's funny how we seem to end up here. I never thought I'd see this all disappear."

"Letty NO. Please. No. Not like this for God's sake."

"You know that we need it. Some time and space to breathe in. This is letting go Dominic. I just want to learn how to live my life without tears. That means learning to live without you in it."

In a soft, broken voice Dom tries to change my mind. "You say you want to learn how to live your life without tears. But we've been trying to do that for thousands of years. So go ahead and cry. It's the only thing to do sometimes. I've been crying too."

I don't let him distract me. "It's what you haven't said here today that sets me free Dom. You haven't said that you love me. And that's what hurts the most."

Dom wraps his arms around my legs, clinging to me as if somehow he can cling to what he had. "I'm not going to loose you like this," he says clutching me. "I **do **love you Leticia. You know that. I love you so much it makes me crazy sometimes. I won't hurt you again, I swear to God. I'll drink a whole bottle of my pride if it will get these demons off our backs."

I push him away and step away from him. "We deserve something real. Time to heal- I can't keep my memories in shoe box in the closet anymore."

"If all you want is time, I'll try to give you that Letty. But it didn't help us before. We need to be together to fix this. I'm not the man I want to be for you when you aren't with me."

Dom picks himself up off the ground. "I'm nothing without you."

I stand in front of him and search his eyes. I can see that he believes it, that he's being 100 honest with me. "You're going to have to learn how to be him Dom. You need to believe in yourself as much as I used to believe in you before I can trust you again. It's like I don't even know who you are anymore."

"Letty- Please. I'm begging you. If we do this, if we take a break, will you promise we'll get back together?" He rubs his neck and then cracks his knuckles. Dom asks sounding more broken and lost than I have EVER heard him before.

"I can't." I hear my heart breaking in those words and know that I am breaking his as well. "And I won't," I force myself to say. I need to be honest with myself. "I don't owe you anymore promises Dominic."

"So you're- are you going to divorce me?"

Sorry. Don't mean to be evil. I know cliff hangers are a bitch. I just wanted to give all the reviewers an update. I'll try to get more online asap!


	27. What We Need Part II

A/N: As promised. A fast update.

**What We Need Part II**

****

"Don't you think I should?" I ask wiping tears from his face.

Even though I don't have a reason to, I still want to protect him and sooth away his pain.

"If I'd cheated on you, you'd have left me, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah but we've already established that you're a better person than I am." Dom says, emphasizing the irony.

I laugh and let him pull me into his lap one last time. "Except I'm not. You're the one that people are drawn to Dom. You can be anything in this world you want to. I wish you could see yourself as I see you."

He nods solemnly. "I'll try. I'll try to fix… this. Because I cherish you- even if I didn't show it like I shoulda. From the depths of my soul, it's beyond my control. It scares me. But now I'm more scared of what my life will be like if you- if we- Shit."

He's shaking. He didn't shake when he went into Lompoc. God- I wish this was just a bad dream.

I take his hand and pull him with me to the bed. I sit down with my back against the head board and he curls up against me, his head on my chest.

"Dom," I say as I stroke his head. "I hope you can do it. I want to believe you. One day I want all of this to be a bad dream. If only tears were laughter, we'd be set."

It's Dom's turn to reach up and kiss my forehead. He gives me a sad smile and nods, agreeing with me. "No shit."

We sit there for a few minutes before I stroke his cheek and start to speak slowly. "When… when you were away and I was scared I used to pray that I would dream about you. I wanted to dream that you were holding me like you used to. Because if you were holding me at night, then nothing bad could happen because you'd protect me. I don't know what's going to happen to us tomorrow Dom, but for tonight, what I want more than anything else is for you to hold me. Could you do that?"

"Baby it's only four in the afternoon. You want to go to bed already?"

"Yeah," I laugh lightly before kissing his bald head one more time and getting serious. "I'm tired Dom. I'm so damn tired."

Dom's eyes fill up with guilt, but he nods and manages to reply in a steady voice. "I'd love to hold you tonight."

I stand up and push the covers back while Dom waits hesitantly by my side.

"Do you want me to put some boxers or something on?" he asks, playing with the belt on the robe.

I give him a look of regret and nod. "I'll put something on too." I go to the drawer and pull out an old pair of his boxers and a white tank and slip them on.

From a bag I didn't notice earlier, Dom pulls on a pair of boxers that look vaguely familiar even though they are obviously pretty new. After a second I recognize them as coming from the stash of clothes I'd slowly built up for him over the last two years.

"Where'd you find those?" I ask, remembering that I'd left them in the closet where I'd kept the journals.

"After we… argued… I got curious." Dom looks at me bashfully. "Thank you. I don't know that I could ever thank you enough Letty. I know I didn't do a good job of it before today, but I swear to God I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I appreciate how much you've done for me and Mia."

He takes my hand and kisses it as we slip into bed.

"Just hold me, okay Dom? I want to forget everything else for a little while."

"Okay."

I fell asleep almost immediately after Dom wrapped his arms around me. I slept better that night than I have since Palmdale.

We didn't do anything, but somehow it was as powerful emotionally as if we'd made love. So much of the pain and anger we'd both been feeling just evaporated, leaving a sense of hope that I'd thought had been lost.

For the first time in nearly a month, I dreamt of two sets of foot prints in the sand. They weren't as close together as they used to be, but they were there. Together.

The room phone woke us the next morning. It was on Dom's side of the bed so he was the one to answer it.

"Hello?" he said groggily. "Uh, hold on Mrs. Coronado. She's right here."

I groaned. What a way to welcome reality back into our lives. There's no way mama is going to believe that nothing happened.

"Yeah?" My voice was thick, forcing me to clear my throat. "Hello?"

"I thought you went on vacation to get away from him?" my mother says with a mixture of concern and laughter.

"We'll talk about this later," I say in Spanish before I remember that Dom can still understand me. "What is it? Why are you calling at?" I reached for the clock to see what time it was. "Ten in the morning? Jesus, what time is it back there?"

"It's early. I just wanted to call before I went to work. The supervisor at LAX called yesterday. He wants to interview you on Monday. Can you make it back here by then? If you need more time with Dominic-"

"I'll be back this afternoon." I hang up the phone and collapse back into a heap on the bed. Shit. It's time to face reality.

"What'd she say?" Dom asks as he watches me get out of bed.

"You know what she said," I reply stripping as I walk to the shower. The bath is still full of rose petals and what is now cold water. I wonder how I'd feel today if I'd let the magic work on me…

I get in the shower and start it. I was my hair under the pounding stream. I'm going home. I'm going home. I'm going home.

When I get out of the shower, I blow dry my hair and put my make up on. I wear make up now. Weird huh? I wear it especially when I want to feel like an adult. It helps me play the role of a mature and responsible grown up.

Wrapped in a towel I walk out and pull on some clothes. I look at Dom who's just staring up at the ceiling. He looks like shit and I doubt that Jesse and Vince had anything to do with it this time.

Without glancing at me, he asks in an almost rhetorical way, "Why do I feel like the world is going to end when we walk out that door?"

"It'll get better." I don't know that but it sounds better than the truth so I say it anyway.

"You're not even going to work at the garage?" he asks as he finally gets out of bed and starts to get dressed.

"Nope."

"Were you serious last night? I can't even call you?"

"No calling, no writing, no messages through Mia- no stalking in any form." I pick up the phone and call Leon. I tell him that we gotta go back and that he should call the airlines.

When he asks about Dom, I cut the conversation short and hang up.

Way to deal, Let.

"Letty, what am I going to tell Mia? She's going to be pissed."

"That's your problem, not mine. But I am going back, so technically you're still good."

I'm terse this morning. I've been terse with everyone- my mom, Leon, Dom…

He comes up behind me and runs his hand down my neck and back. "Are you going to date other people?"

"I… I hadn't thought about it. But you already are so-" And yet, all I want to do is turn around and push him onto the bed and just- No. No. No.

"An eye for an eye will leave us both blind Letty. I feel like I'm finally seeing you now and I don't want to loose that." Dom is still trailing his hands up and down my spine.

The bastard never did play fair.

I swallow and lean into him. "I can't promise anything Dom. But I won't do it just to hurt you, okay?"

"Okay." He wraps his arms around me for a moment before pushing me away gently. "Go. Go now or I won't be able to let you go ever."

I nod and pick up my duffle. As I open the door I look back at him. "Dom… just… I want this to work, okay? So try. Please. Just try your hardest for us. I need you to do this for us."

"I swear to God Letty, I'll do everything I can. I'll be that man for us."

I nod and walk out the door.

Leon and I were on the next flight to L.A.

We didn't see Dom on the flight but I know he got back soon after we did cause Mia came storming over that night with him in tow.

"What the HELL is wrong with you two?" She wasn't asking so much as stating as she burst into my room, holding my husband by the ear.

"I wasn't my idea to come here Let. I told her I shouldn't be here but she fucking grabbed me by my _ear._" He's sputtering and trying to twist out of his younger sister's clutches.

"Hey Mi. How you livin?" I ask as I put my laundry away and try desperately not to smile.

"Other than the fact that I haven't been able to hang out with my best friend for almost four months, just peachy. But this isn't about me. Dom said you wouldn't take him back even though everyone he loves you and you love him. He did get on his knees and beg right?"

"Fuck! Mia, I swear I got on my knees. At least twice. I swear!" He's squealing like a stuck pig. It's fantastic. "Letty, please, fucking tell her I begged. Please Let!"

"He got on his knees." I can't keep the laughter out of my voice. It's just too much.

She looks at him in disgust and pushes him away with disgust. Watching him stumble and fall on his ass, she looks from him to me and back again. "Then what's the problem. Explain."

"We just need some time," I say, not looking Dom in the eye.

"You had two years," Mia says, dismissing me.

"You sound just like your brother," I say dryly.

"Maybe we're right then." Mia crosses her arms and sits on the top of my bureau- directly in my way.

"Mia- come on. I promised I'd give her some time." Dom is trying to be stern, but you can tell he's afraid of both of us. "I fucked up things here, not Letty."

"What does that man? You're just gonna break up?" Mia looks shocked and sick.

"We're just… separated. We're doing a trial separation," I say quietly as I put my dog tags on. I wonder if Dom saw that my wedding ring is on the chain?

He walks over to us and picks Mia up over his shoulder. Winking at me as she squeals and beats his back.

"Come on Mia. You heard her. It's just a trial. Now try not to piss her off. If I want to get her back, then I gotta do what she says, okay?"

He waves goodbye as he takes the youngest Torretto with him.

My heart stops when I see that he's got his wedding ring on too. Only his is actually on his left ring finger.


	28. Caught Off Gaurd

A/N- today's installment inspired by Christina Agueilera and Gavin DeGraw, and that old standby, Girlfight.

A/N 2- not proof read. Just posting so you can get your fix. Sorry for any/all errors.

Things slowly moved from tense to… less tense around the fort.

Vince went back to work at the garage and brought Leon with him. Despite the fact that they were wary of each other, Leon and Dom became close pretty quickly.

Dom also took Jesse out one afternoon for lunch and they had some sort of cathartic male bonding session so now Dom has fewer bruises but a longer shadow.

You'd swear the sun rose and set on Dom's ass.

Every conversation I had with Jess included exactly three examples of how great and generous Dom was, and two inquiries into how long I thought it'd be before we got back together.

It was almost comical.

I managed to go exactly seventeen days without seeing Dom. My life wasn't empty exactly- I mean I got that job at LAX and was learning new stuff all the time. But not having to keep tables on everyone and work 14 hour days at the same time- well compared to my life back then I had a lot of free time.

I worked on my car a lot, helped Abuela in the kitchen- shit like that. Mia came over sometimes and we did stupid shit like paint our nails and I don't know, act our age for once.

By unspoken agreement she didn't mention Dom unless it was in the context of the guys in general.

So I was totally surprised when she conned me into a night out and we "accidentally" ran into Dom. Who obviously knew we were going to be there. As did the rest of the team. If Mia hadn't made sure I looked my best I would have killed that conniving little brat. But seeing as looked hot and damn well knew it, I just shook my head and laughed when the boys approached my car.

"That was cold Mia."

"What, you think hanging around while the two of you play Romeo and Juliet has been fun for us?" Mia looked at me as if she were looking at a child.

"Whatever. I'm going to get out now and make nice because I'm in a good mood. But don't pull this shit again, got that?" I waved my finger at her as I armed the arm on my car.

"Just think about why you're in a good mood," Mia taunted as she joined Jesse, Vince and the late coming Leon.

Damn, Leon too? "E tu Leon?" I asked with a grin. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it off my face.

He shrugged but disappeared behind Dom's fast approaching figure.

Everyone disappeared when Dom came into view. They always did. Maybe always would.

"How you livin Torretto?" I asked as I trailed my fingers up and down his chest, not looking him in the eyes as he responded in turn by putting his hands on my hips.

"The path of righteousness is lonely without you Letty." Dom whispered as he pulled me into a light embrace.

I hugged him and breathed in his sent. I'm Home, I thought for a moment before letting him go. Stepping away awkwardly, I saw that he still had our ring on.

"What do you say," I asked taking his left hand in mine, "when people ask you about this?" I played with the ring with my right thumb.

"Let," he whispered conspiratorially, "you know what?"

"What?" I asked, smiling as I looked into his eyes. I felt my heart stop and start again raggedly as I drank in his features.

"They don't ask. I think it's cause they're afraid of me."

"Yeah?" I say, still smiling. I feel like a cheerleader. Next thing you know I'll be twirling my hair in my finger.

He nods solemnly. "I'm a man on a mission. Gotta win my wife back. I don't have time for their bull shit, and they know it."

"Sounds like a lot of work." I feel the cold firm steal of my car pressing against my back. Dom's got me against it somehow and I never noticed.

"She's worth it," he smiles, giving me a wry look. "The only part I'm having trouble with is proving to her that I'm worth it."

"Oh yeah?" I swallow as he starts to nuzzle my neck.

"Mmmhm." He nibbles on my pulse point, my ear, my lips.

"I want to tell her all the stuff I've been doin, but she won't see me, won't talk to me. You'll tell her though, right?"

"What do you want me to tell her?" I gasp as he rubs his body against mine oh so very slowly.

"I enrolled n classes at the community college. How to run a small business and accounting." He pulls back and looks at me. "I gave up drinking- at least for now."

His voice is serious now as he keeps talking. My head rests against his chest as he continues.

"I talked to everyone and told them I was sorry that I screwed up- with Linder and with you- but that I was going to do everything I could to make it right." He rubs my back as I do the same for him.

"Was it hard?" I ask looking up at him.

He looks away and nods. "Mia was the hardest. I told her as much as I could- about what was going on between you and me. I didn't tell her everything cause I wasn't sure what you wanted her to know. She's disappointed in me. I can tell."

"She still loves you Dom," I soothe.

"I know, but it sucks to know you've let someone down. It also was… unpleasant to know she' thinks some of our problems stem from her. I know she knows better intellectually, but it really is like you and me are getting a divorce for her. No matter what you tell kids, they blame themselves…" He sighs and notices my chain.

His fingers trace the chain down and find the dog tags and my wedding ring. He grins for a moment and then kisses my forehead.

"What?" I say blushing. "You still wear yours."

Dom winks and strokes my face. "I'm just surprised is all. No, it's good." He looks at me for a moment before stepping back. "I'm serious about needing to talk to you Let. How am I supposed to prove to you I'm making changes if I can't see you?"

I sigh and cross my arms over my chest. "Just cause this meeting is going well doesn't mean we're ready-"

"I know that." Dom insists as he cuts me off. "I'm just stating the obvious here lLet. Jess can't relay everything to you for me."

I laugh as Dom rubs his neck and looks distressed. "So it _was_ a set up."

Dom shrugs and stands tall. "I'm glad you find this amusing."

I sigh realizing Dom is dead serious. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

"Date night. Once a week. Wednesdays, if you're available." He looked so… serious standing there, all dressed up and shit.

I want to be too, but all I can think about is getting him home and under me. I'm glad it's dark or the flush in my face would give away my dirty thoughts.

"Aight." I nod in agreement after a moment. "But if we're doing Wednesdays again, we're doing them how we used to. No sex, at least not yet."

Dom winces, but nods. "That's fair."

"Good." I looked at the others and have to bite my lip. The boys are goofing around, but Mia is watching us intently. "So what did Mia say that convinced you to surprise me tonight?"

"She said you stopped changing the subject when my name came up. She said that yesterday you even asked a question about me." Dom intertwines our fingers as he leans against my car. "And Leon said you put a picture of us in your locker at LAX."

"Mmm. So you though you'd accidentally arrange to accidentally be in the same spot I was in?"

"Mmmhm." His breath is warm and minty, sending chills down my spine. "I love you. I wanted to see you. I miss you."

I could feel a blush rising again. When he talked like this all I wanted to do was get into my car and drive away somewhere with him….

"I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately Mira- and that's the me you know I can be," he whispers into my ear.

I smile and kiss his hand. "That's sweet. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get lucky tonight."

"Any night I get to spend with you is my lucky night. You're the only prize worth winning." Dom kisses my hands now, mirroring the act I'd just performed.

"So I'm still your trophy?" I ask, stroking his cheek.

"Yes ma'am," Dom nods like a school boy.

I laugh and can't help it- I just kiss him.

The kiss gets out of hand pretty quickly. I can feel myself approaching the starting line, pulse roaring. Even though I know this is not a race, that part of me that only Dom can satisfy is crying out for me to push the pedal to the metal, hit the nos and fly.

"I'm sorry," Dom groans. And pushes himself away from both me and the car. "I didn't come here tonight for this. I swear Letty." He makes a fist and then rubs his head with both hands. Who'd a thought he'd look hella sexy without hair?

"Fuck it, let's go Dom." I use the remote to unlock my car and throw him the keys as I walk around to the passenger side.

My heart is flirting with the redline right now but I can't get enough.

I don't have to tell him twice. He's in the car faster than the flag can drop. We're out of the parking lot and back to the Fort before the Team even notices we've gone.

Laughing we run upstairs. Dom catches me in the hallway and kisses me till my head spins.

I'm whimpering and begging in Spanish almost instantaneously.

It feels right when Dom answers me using my native tongue.

Whoever said French was the language of love must have been smoking crack.

Dom picks me up and carries me into the master bedroom. He turns on the lights and I see that he's made a _lot_ of changes to it.

"Do you like it?" Dom asks, his voice anxious.

"I…" Looking around the room, I see the easel he's set up for me next to the bay window he's installed. The cushions on the window seat match the pillows on the bed. It's all just like-

"I took the sketches from the journal and tried to make it how you wanted it." Dom kisses my ear and takes me on a tour of the room, pointing out everything he hadn't done yet and apologizing for it.

"Baby don't do that- don't apologize. It's beautiful. I love it," I say stroking his cheek.

"It's just that I thought I'd have more time." He realizes that somehow that wasn't exactly the most romantic thing to say and starts to blush. "I mean- I just- I"

"You didn't think I'd be that easy, huh?" I grin. "That's okay. I didn't think I would be either." I wink and push him onto the bed.

Forgive me father for I have sinned. Or tried to anyways. When I let Dm take me home I meant to have my wicked way with him- or at least let him have his wicked way with me.

I suppose I should have been more specific in my plans.

Dom tortured me for almost two hours and yes he fucked with me.

But we did not have good old fashioned sexual intercourse.

I begged for it. Believe me I did.

During my few coherent moments that night I begged Dom so hard, loud and long that I was hoarse all the next day.

But I did not, in a word, get my wish.

The man tortured me for two hours using every possible combination of his hands and mouth. He defied the laws of physics with some of the positions he maneuvered us into.

But no.

He did not -would not- give it to me.

I begged.

But no.

I should be grateful. Most women never get to experience the heights Dom drove me to.

Instead I was embarrassed.

So I did something which I admit was stupid.

I tried to pick a fight with him.

Only he wouldn't have it. He just laughed at me.

We were lying in bed sometime after I'd shattered for the third time.

I must have been crying because when I was finally coherent, Dom was wrapped around me saying soothing things. In Spanish of course.

I felt so… stupid because I wanted him again already and I'd already- but he'd made it clear he wouldn't.

I tried to twist out of his arms as my tears turned from unconscious ones to frustrated ones.

When I jabbed him in the ribs Dom cursed. "What the fuck, Let?"

"Get off me." I sniffed and tried again to roll off him.

Dom made a face but wouldn't let me go. With amazing ease he pinned me firmly under him with my hands over my head. "No."

I fought him and myself. "Let me go Dominic."

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Dom growled, making me quiver- to my disgust.

"Not you." I spat and looked away, tossing my head, my nostrils flaring.

That's when the SOB laughed. "You're pissed because I won't fuck you."

I refuse to answer and try to look bored, a rather difficult task when you're naked under the man you've been deprived of for so long you're- Don't think about it Letty.

Dom puts one hand between us and I start to whimper. Within 15 seconds I'm begging. God.

"Is this what you want?" Dom asks, slipping one finger deep.

"Dominic…" I gasp. "No more games. Just Do It. Fuck Dom. Please!" I'm so desperate my hips just about fly up off the bed.

I can hear the laughter in his voice- it's like ice.

I feel so fucking humiliated because I can't control myself around him and he is 100 in control.

I stiffen and start to cry again.

"I need to get away from you. I need to walk away from you." I sob turning away from him. "You hold me prisoner. I'm about to break. I can't stop this ache. I'm addicted to your love and I'm feigning for a cure. Every step I take leads to one mistake…"

I curl up tightly and start to shake. It hurts my soul cause I can't let go- I hate to show that I lost control.

Dom laughs sadly and rolls off me. "I'm not some dirty drug habit you need to be ashamed of. I'm your husband."

He sits up and stares off into space. "That was part of the reason left me. I loose control and I'm a bastard. I maintain control and I'm a bastard. There's no pleasing you, is there? You're the one who said no sex yet."

I know I'm acting crazy, but I've spent the better part of two years being rational and reasonable. I'm a teenager. I'm supposed to be volatile. I sit up and pull my knees to my chest, cross my arms over them and tuck my chin in so I'm drawn in tight.

Dom smiles wearily at my silence. "We're still broken Letty. I do want you, I swear to God I do. But if we can't go one day without screaming and crying, then we're not ready. You know that. You knew that before I did, remember?"

"I just- I needed you tonight Dom. I needed you to make love to me and you wouldn't. It felt like the same old thing. Like I needed you but you didn't need me."

"Baby, I WAS making love to you. Tonight was all about you."

I snort. One of my less lady like habits. "It's not the same. It was lonely. And you don't talk to me. I can't know what you're thinking if you don't talk to me. It… It sucks that you're always in control of things between you and me. It's like you make all the decisions about us."

Dom shakes his head. "Letty I was in jail for two years. You made all the decisions."

"But not about us. You said when we should have a relationship. You said what we would do and when we could have sex. Then you said we should get married. Then you basically said when it was over." It's painful for me to admit these things to him, but I do cause I know I need to.

Dom sighs and turns so that he's looking me straight in the eye. "It's not over. It will never be over between us, not even if for some reason we wanted it to be. I'm still pissed you lied to me for two fucking years, but I don't throw that in your face every chance I get. You're the one who's filing Letty, not me."

"Because you fucked God knows how many women while I- Shit. I'm not getting into this again." I stop myself.

"I know it won't make things better, but for the record, I do regret it." Dom says quietly. "And it wasn't like what we did tonight. With you- I finally found somebody I care more about more than myself."

Despite this being one of the most painful conversations I've ever had with him, I laugh.

"So I'm somebody, huh?"

"Yeah. You are."


	29. Just Surviving

Chapter 29

After a few minutes I asked Dom if he was mad at me for ruining our night.

"You're kidding, right? I love it when you get jealous, possessive and irrational," he teased as he started tickling me. "I'm Italian. That's how we express our affection. It does my ego good to know I can make you crazy without even touching you."

I laugh because the only other option would be to cry and I'm tired of crying.

I didn't spend the night. I went home to Mama's.

Just my luck, she was up when I walked in.

The look she gave me said it all.

"What?" I took off my heels and went to the fridge.

"How's Dom?" Mama asked as she poured me a cup of hot cocoa from the kettle she had sitting on the table.

"He's… good." I say as the cold air from the fridge billows out around me. We'd gone out for dinner but since I never made it passed the parking lot, I was starving.

"I'm surprised you bothered to come home," my mother said as she raised an eyebrow and flared her nostrils at me. "Your top is on inside out by the way."

I look down quickly to see that my mom had just tricked me into admitting I'd been fooling around with Dom. My top was fine.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out some fruit salad and grabbed a fork.

"You're cruel, you know that?" I tell my mom as I sit down across from her.

She laughs and pushes her hair out of her face. She's sitting there in bedroom slippers, a robe, and pajamas she's had since before my dad went away. Somehow she still looks like a queen.

"You and Dom are going to make it you know. You've both made mistakes, but things will work themselves out."

I chew my food and play with my mug. I look back at her and ask a question I'm not sure I want the answer to. "Did Papa ever cheat on you?"

Her eyes narrow. "Never. How could you even ask that?"

"He cheated on me." I say simply. "We didn't just have a fight mama. He cheated on me. Deliberately and repeatedly."

I jab another piece of fruit. "And I can't decide who I hate more- myself for still needing him, or him for hurting me like he did."

"Dios mios. I didn't know." Her voice is full of sympathy.

"I think… I think I could forgive him if it had been jst one night after he found out about the Army." I stare at the kiwi on the end of my fork.

"How many?"

"I can't make myself ask. The team knows. Everyone we know knows he did it Mama. He _wanted_ to humiliate me. He did it on purpose. He made sure I even saw him with one of them." I bite the green fruit and chew slowly.

"This is after he came home?" I can tell from her voice she's beginning to understand both of our points of view. She's my mother, but she loves Dominic too. Everyone does.

I nod. "I feel like- like I worked so hard I didn't deserve that. But I also feel like I lied to him so I did. I feel like I didn't tell anyone we got married so I can't be pissed that he didn't act like we were." I push the fruit around. "I'm so confused Mama."

"You didn't deserve that Leticia." My mother's voice is firm and her denial quick. It soothes my wounded pride.

"I can't live like this. I can't live my life this way." I put the fork down and bite my lower lip.

"I don't want to feel like this mama. I see him and all I want to do is be with him."

My mother comes around the table and wraps her arms around me.

But it's not enough to stop the pain, and somehow that breaks my heart even more.

The words I'd said earlier in the night come pouring out again. "I'm about to break. I can't stop this ache. I keep going back to the one thing I must let go of…"

She sits down next to me and rubs my back. "You're both so young. I shouldn't have let you get married so young."

"I love him mama." I cry, fisting my eyes. "I don't know what to do, I just want to be with him, but I can't feeling like this. He did it on purpose."

"He's trying, mija. I know he's trying to make it up to you." My mother uses her sleeve to wipe my eyes and nose.

"He makes me so weak."

"Don't say that. I saw what you went through these last three years with him. You were stronger than I ever hoped you could be and it was because you loved him." She brushes my hair out of my face and kisses my forehead.

These rituals of comfort, where would I be without them?

"Everyone expects me to get back together with him Mama. You heard Abuela that day. She still thinks divorce will get me excommunicated. And Mia and the Team- they forgave Dom just like that. I feel like I'm crazy cause I just can't let it go. But I can't let him go either." I take a sip of my cocoa and close my eyes.

"If you let him go you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Her voice is so full of conviction that I believe her. "He's your one and only Letty. You know it. We all know it."

"So I'm supposed to just… just take it? What if he does it again? If he hit me you'd want me to leave him, but he fucks around because he has some Macho reputation to protect and somehow everyone just isn't surprised. It'll be okay Letty. He's sorry Letty." I mimic.

I break down again. "I don't think it'll ever be okay."

"Have you told Dom how you feel?" Mama asks.

"Only when we're fighting. We can't… talk about it. It hurts so much that I just lash out at him." I laugh a little which surprises my mother. "And then he'll kiss me or hold me or beg me to forgive him and tell me not to give up on him because he'll spend the rest of his life making it up to me and end up believing him."

"But you ran away anyway."

"It's not running away," I whisper, "It's surviving."

"Go home to him Mija. Tell him all of this and work it out with him." My mother kisses my forehead once more.

"I don't know if I'm strong enough," I admit as I look longingly at his house from the window. The light is on in the bedroom. Our bedroom.

My mother laughs. "You're not strong enough to live without him Mija. You only cry when you're not with him. Or when you think about things that happened when you were apart."

"We were going to take it slow…" I say even as I stand up.

"Slow doesn't work for the two of you." Mama pushes me out the door bare foot. "Go to him and promise me you'll try. Don't wait for tomorrow because it may be worse than today. I thought I had a thousand tomorrows to spend with your father, mija. Go to him and live your life with him. Because just surviving sucks."

I look at her and see the tears in her eyes. I nod because I'm so nervous that I'll puke if I open my mouth. How did this happen? I don't know, but I know, suddenly, that it is right.

I turn back and see the light still on- and I run home.

_This time I've made up my mind. _

_I know there's things in my life that I'm going to let go starting tonight._


	30. The Fast and the Furious

A/N: _Hey everyone_

_For the past 29 chapters you've stuck by me, and I want to thank you for it. We've still got a bit more to go, but I think things are going to start speeding up plot wise. You may have noticed that everything thus far has been pre-FATF. _

_That's about to change. _

_I won't be spending much time on the events of the movie themselves, but we're nearing the end of our time together._

_So pay attention now, because a hell of a lot can change in a quarter mile…_

Chapter 30: **The Fast and the Furious.**

If anyone was surprised to see me come downstairs dressed only in Dom's boxers and now wrinkled dress shirt, they kept it to themselves. Yes, there were a few knowing grins and pats on Dom's back, but other than the huge ass breakfast Mia cooked for all of us; we just carried on because it seemed like the normal thing to do.

Obviously it wasn't perfect. It took a little time to sort out who was in charge now. For the last two and a half years I'd been the one everyone turned to, but before that it'd been all Dom. It helped that Dom was at the Garage and I wasn't. The Garage remained the center of our universe. Dom being Dom was the force that held it all together. Gravity.

Dom and I tried hard to make things work. For six weeks we walked around on eggshells, only challenging each other in bed.

Looking back now I wonder if things would have turned out differently if… There are so many things that I could fill in there. Shit I have so many what ifs in my life that its' like a fucking choose your own adventure book. But we can't change the past.

I asked Dom this morning what made him risk everything to do what we did.

He just smiled and kissed me. "You needed me."

We'd been in the middle of changing our dressings. This is our ritual now: him, then me.

"I'd begun to wonder if you'd ever need me anywhere but in the bedroom again."

I nod and wince as he applies the ointment to my stitches. Ointment. That's one fucking weird word.

There is no blame between us now. There's just this hard won trust.

If you saw us back then, during the heists, you would have seen that trust wasn't the strongest aspect of our relationship. We were getting there, but we were still a shell of our pre-lompoc selves.

I've grown up enough to take my share of the responsibility for it. I was empty and it wasn't Dom's fault.

We were late that morning. We were supposed to drive Abuela and Mama to Mass and then the four of us were going to have brunch. But we'd gotten back late from the races and we'd both been pretty high off Dom's win so we'd celebrated and celebrated till we finally fell asleep in the slowly growing warmth of the rising sun.

Mama had called us at 10:15 and just laughed when I'd answered the phone. It had only been six weeks since she'd pushed me out the door and back into his arms. We were still nearly happy then. Both she and Abuela were so pleased that Dom and I were together that she told us to just meet her at the Waffle House after Mass got out. She'd drive the two of them, she said.

I'd started to protest but stopped when Dom's hands began to wander. Hastily agreeing, I'd hung up and launched myself at him, not sparing them a second thought.

Mass let out at 11:45. We left the Fort right around then to meet them. The first half of the drive was fine but then traffic slowed down to a crawl about two miles from the restaurant. After a few minutes I knew weren't going anywhere. So I called Mama's cell.

It was an accident they said. The driver of the truck just hadn't seen them. It was hard to when he'd fallen asleep at the wheel. Been driving for 17 hours. Only stopped for gas. The rig he'd been driving was four months over due for service. He'd been on a deadline- needed to get the shipment to the Trans by noon.

If he'd gone for servicing, the truck woulda had new brakes…

Abuela had been fine. Except for the trauma she endured having to hold her dying daughter in her arms until the end had come.

Abuela told me that my mother had smiled. She took some comfort in that, she said. Mama had smiled and called my father's name with relief before passing on. I'd nodded numbly at the news and I'd nodded numbly again when Abuela told me she was moving to San Diego to help Tia with her growing family. I didn't react to much after mama died. I was empty.

I quit my job at L.A.X. Well not so much quit as just stopped going in. Stopped getting out of bed. Stopped caring.

Dom was beside himself. He did everything he could think of. He begged. He bullied. Finally he bribed.

"Letty, baby, if you come down to the Garage today, I'll do anything you want baby. You want that new stereo for your car? I'll get it for you. You want me to grow my hair back? I'll do it. You want to have that big wedding we can do that too. Anything Baby, just please." He'd been holding me tight and I could feel his tears on my cheek.

I'd nodded and squeezed his hand. I'd reached back and stroked his neck right behind his ear. "Don't cry Dommy."

Dom laughed and sniffed back his tears. "Yeah? You commin?"

I nodded and squeezed his hand again. "But you gotta promise me two things okay?"

"Anything baby." He rolled over me so he could my face.

"Number one," I say gravely as I look deep into his eyes. "Don't grow your hair back."

He blinked then smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen him smile. He laughed with relief and the sound filled the room, pushing some of the chill away. I hadn't realized I'd been that cold. I hadn't realized what I'd been missing till I saw it in his eyes. Hope.

"Got it." Dom kissed my forehead and stroked my damp cheek. "Number two?"

"Help me feel whole again," I begged, my voice cracking. "I want to make them pay Dom, but I can't think how. I just want to DO something."

Hugging me tight once more, Dom swore he'd find a way.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Brian and the LAPD obviously thought Dom came up with the heist thing all by himself and just for the money. Bull shit. He did it for me. They all did it for me. The months of planning and practice, all of the last 18 months.

What Brian never realized was that I was lost and that the Team was trying everything they could, legal or otherwise, to help me find my way back to them. Back to Dom.

Everything they did was for me. When they "offered" Dom other girls, it was to make me react. I'd lost so much, I wasn't going to loose Dom too. Jealousy may burn green, but at least it lit a much needed fire under my ass.

I wonder now what Brian must have thought when he saw us together. Here was Dom, the King of the Streets. Every girl wanted to be with him, every guy wanted to be him. And here I was, some bitchy caricature of the jealous latina girlfriend.

I wonder if he knows that the only reason Dom broke up his fight with Vince that first day was because I said something. Play that scene over in your head. Mia's already falling for the Snowman. She wants Dom to step in. But he doesn't. Not till I say something. Not till me.

How you like me now O'Connor? You thought Mia was your key in. Naw man, it was me. For Dom it was always me.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

After Dom was done rewrapping my arm he went to the kitchen to get me some OJ on ice. It was weird that Vince, Dom and I al had fucked up arms, but there you go. Vince's wounds had been obvious, as had Dom's. Mine had been more complicated. All I know is two days after the last heist I felt like shit and couldn't hold anything down. Four days later I wake up to my own screams as Leon and Dom hold me down while some woman was digging around in there with a hot scalpel.

I wake up again a few days after that as Mia was giving me a bath and a very drunk Dom serenades me from outside somewhere. Well not so much serenades me as pours his heart out to Leon understand in long, loud, rambling words I can't make sense of.

"Mia?" I moan as I try to sit up.

"Hey Letty. No, don't try to move yet. You gave us a scare you know," Mia coos.

"But I'm fine." I mumble to the chaotic world. "Vince and Jesse- Dom's charger. It was only my ribs." I pause while I try to make the world stop spinning.

"You were so busy taking care of everyone else you didn't notice your own arm got infected. You got busted up too remember? You were bleeding when Leon helped you into his car?" She steadies me as it slowly comes back to him.

I grimace. "Fuck. Now I owe him another set of floor mats."

"You know he said the same thing?" She gives me this look that says _whoda__ thunk it?_ Usually she saves that look for try-hards who order tuna.

I'd flip her the bird but I think it'd hurt me more than it would hurt her. I try to move but I'm so weak I'm pretty ineffectual. "Dom's drunk," I murmur.

Mia wipes my brow and dips the cloth she's using in a basin and rings it out. "Yup. Leon's idea. If we got him drunk, Leon thought Dom might pass out. He's been up since you got sick. He's gonna make himself sick at this rate and that is the last thing we need right now."

I nod, then shiver. "Tell him to come upstairs and lie down with me," I mumble drifting. "I can't sleep unless…" I didn't finish the sentence but succumbed to the power of suggestion and passed out myself.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

That brings us to today and Dom getting me the orange juice. He went outside and talked to Mia briefly, the oj in his hand. I watched from the window before sitting on the bed and resting my head against the wall.

"You look like shit baby." There's a smile in his voice and it brings one to my lips as well.

"Love you too Dom," I croak without opening my eyes. "I feel like shit, that's for sure."

"Yeah? Don't go getting sick on me again. You know my liver can't take anymore of that." Dom scolds as he sits besides me. "You probably shoulda staid in yesterday."

"Had to go. Know that." I grunted as I tilt my head back and let Dom put the straw to my lips.

"I know." Dom sighs. "He wouldn't want you getting sick because of him."

"Know that too." I nestled against Dom. "Stay with me?"

"Forever." He kisses my head and just holds me for a long, long time.

I drift in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware that Dom is content to sit here with me and just watch me sleep. Makes me warm and happy.

"Movie?" I ask Dom some time later, handing him the remote.

"I'm okay. You?" He's speaking quietly as if he doesn't want to ruin this moment, to break the spell of our happiness.

"No," I mumble as my eyes get heavy again. "Tired."

"You didn't eat yet. No sleeping till you eat something," Dom scolds again.

"Mia said she'd make me a smoothie," I yawn, stretching my back carefully.

"Mia is on a mission right now," Dom teases. "Want me to make you one?"

"With rum?" I ask hopefully.

"Once you're off the meds I will," Dom growls. "You haven't gotten to take advantage of the drinking age down here yet, have you Mira? Little Letty Latch on don't need to be 21 to have a drink with her man in a club down here in Mexico."

If he'd teased me like that before Lompoc, I would have rolled my eyes and given him the finger.

If he'd said it right after he got out, I woulda dropped him like a sack of shit and left his crumpled ass on the floor to get his last corona out of his fridge for myself.

If he'd said it before Mama died, I woulda bit my tongue and ignored him.

If he said it when Brian met us, I woulda flared my nostrils and smirked before taking four shots of Cuervo without blinking.

Now, I just smile and lace my fingers thru his. "You gonna take me out, big man?"

"Gotta show off my trophy," he says, pressing a kiss to my knuckles.

I blush a little, then narrow my eyes. He's trying to distract me. "You gave Vince 2 beers yesterday," I grumble.

"He's been off the painkillers for two days chica. Fast healer."

I want to go back to sleep but I know Dom won't let me just yet. It's getting hot in here so I don't really mind that much. "Can I go downstairs with you while you make my smoothie?" I never thought I'd be that girl who asked her boyfriend for permission to do things. Gotta say though, it ain't as humiliating as I thought it'd be.

"Sure mija. But only if you let me carry you downstairs."

"I'm not four." I frown. Maybe I spoke too soon about that whole being coddled thing.

"Oh I know." That charming bastard is wagging his eyebrows at me. "Believe me, I know."

I feel a flicker of interest start to surface. Unfortunately my man knows me too well and pulls away. "Not yet mami. You gotta get healthy first."

I growl but don't protest too much. He's right. I frankly don't have the energy.

We end up walking downstairs together. Dom made me put an arm around him and he had one around my waist in case I needed his help. I didn't, but I leaned on him just a little cause it felt nice and I wanted him to feel useful. I think it helps him, gives him a purpose. Makes him proud.

I sit outside on the porch swing watching the waves crash while Dom uses the blender to make me something yummy.

Vince comes out and sits next to me. He's lost some weight in the weeks since the heist, but he's doing better.

"How's Leticia today?" he asks all effeminate like he's my girlfriend or something.

I know it ain't pc, but I smile. Vince does a great mo. You'd never know it cause he's so macho, but Will and Grace is one of his favorite shows. Probably comes from the fact that his big brother's gay.

Kevin used to be an All American Football player and he took good care of Vince when their step-dad was drunk and shit, but deep down, we always knew. No body ever talks about it, cause we don't want people to say something stupid and piss Vince off. He took it hard when Kevin moved away. Got real angry for a little while too and made like he hated gay people. He doesn't, not really. He was just, I don't know, hurt.

It's Kevin's house we're staying at now. He's not here- he and Jeff are in Jackson Hole skiing or something, but he's letting us use the place.

"Now, now Leticia, you've got to focus girl. I know that man of yours has a cock like a race horse, but please honey, try to focus on Ms. Thang for a moment, m'kay?" Vince's voice cuts through the cobwebs.

I laugh a little as I focus back in on him. "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry. I was just thinking about tasting Dom's race horse like-"

"Oh you shut your dirty mouth Letty. I don't need to hear about that shit." Vince cuts me off. There's nothing Mary about his voice now.

"Can't take the heat Ms. Thang?" I tease.

Vince flips me what I assume is the bird using his cast clad arm. "You's a bad bad girl."

"Been worse," I wink. "But I've been better too. What about you Coyote? You doing okay?"

"I don't have no one making me smoothies, but I can't complain." He takes a swig of his corona and puts his knee up on the swing between us. "Wish we were here under better circumstances." Vince tilts the bottle at me in invitation.

I look through the window to see where Dom's at. I can hear him pouring the smoothie into a glass for me so I shake my head no. "Better not. Dr. T and Nurse Ratchet would flip their shit if I did."

He smirks and takes another drink as Dom walks out with two tall glasses, one in each hand. "Move your ass away from my girl Dawg." Dom uses his hands to emphasize his point and waves Vince away.

Vince laughs and mutters something about Dom being pussy whipped under his breath as he moves to another seat on the deck.

Dom gives him a look that says _at least I get pussy_. It's amazing how much that boy can say without using his words.

"Miss me?" I ask, as I take the glass with the straw from my man.

"Yup." It was only fifteen minutes and one word, but I know he meant it cause he pulls me to him so that we're molded together stretched out on the swing.

"Gracias," I say simply as I take a sip.

"Denada."

"God you two are so… wholesome these days," Vince laughs as he watches us.

"Regular Bonnie and Clyde Cleaver," I sneer and roll my eyes, which makes them both laugh.

"You think we're domesticated kah-yot?" Dom asks lazily. "Maybe we should write a book, hmm baby? How to build a healthy relationship in ten crimes or less?"

We all laugh, and it feels good.

"I'm serious though guys," Vince says as he watches us. He finishes off his beer and tosses the empty into the crate. "I was sweating it for the two of you for a few months there. I mean you couldn't be in the same room together for a while. I thought Dom would end up back in jail when he picked up Mia's pictures from the store and saw those of you and Leon working on your car Let."

"What's this?" I ask, perking up. "Dom you thought that _me_ and _Leon?_ You never-"

"You have a big mouth Dawg and you need to shut the fuck up now." Dom pointed a finger at Vince.

"I wanna hear about this," I say turning to look at Dom. "You were jealous of Leon?" I can't picture it. "Leon?"

"It was a long time ago," Dom says gruffly. "Forget it."

I smile when I see how red Dom is getting while he shoots Vince the look of death. "You know I've _never_ even thought of Leon like that right?" I rub the back of Dom's neck.

Dom turns a little purple and looks away. "I didn't know that then. I get it now."

I kiss his temple and turn around. "Good. Cause if you're going to worry about me cheating on you, I'd like to be given a little more credit than that. Leon's so not worth it. Now Jesse…"

Dom sputters and chokes on his smoothie.

"I'm kidding! I'm so kidding!"

All of a sudden there's a thump and I see Vince rolling on the floor holding his gut with his bad arm and cradling that arm with his good one. There are tears streaming down the side of his face, he's laughing so hard.

Dom gives me a squeeze and growls at me that I better be kidding. "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt chica, and assume that it was the pain killers talking."

I stand up and wink at him, blowing a kiss before picking up my now empty glass and walking inside. I hear the door slam behind me and I know Dom's followed me.

"Leticia," Dom says softly as he walks up behind me. I watch was his reflection grows larger in the kitchen window.

"Dominic?" I reply angelically, turning slowly to face him.

He stands directly in front of me and reaches past me to put his glass in the sink. He takes his sweet time and lets his body rub up against mine. "The kitchen is a good place for you," he says solemnly in my ear.

"Yeah?" I ask, playing along. "Why's that?"

"You always look beautiful to me, but somehow, I can never et enough of seeing you in a kitchen. You remember that night when I first kissed you?" He's teasing me now.

"Mmm. Vaguely." I smile into the crook of his neck.

"I made you come that night." Dom states. His voice makes my pulse jackknife.

I nip at his neck and put my hands in his back pockets like I did that day so many years ago. He lifts me onto the edge of the counter top, replaying slowly our first moments together as Dom and Letty. I pull my hands out of his pockets and put them around his neck.

"You need me to refresh your memory some more, Mrs. Torreto?" He smiles into my mouth and kisses me.

"Please do, Mr. Torretto," I sigh as the delicious sensations roll over me.

Dom pulls me forward and wraps my legs around him. He's careful with me, which makes my heart swell with love.

"Take off your shirt?" I ask breathlessly between nibbles on his ear. "I want to touch you."

He shakes his head no. "I'm still ugly. Purple and yellow."

"I'd love you if you were red and green," I tease and tug on the edge of his shirt. "Besides I'm all busted up too. I start to get self conscious and fidget a little.

"No, don't. You're beautiful." Dom's voice is fierce. To make me smile he raises his eyebrows and grins slyly, "especially in kitchens."

I laugh and give him a playful shove.

The door opens behind us and Mia groans when she sees us. "I have to cook there people." She sets down the two packages she's carrying and gives us a dirty look. "First off that stuff belongs upstairs in your bedroom. Secondly you shouldn't be fooling around till the doctors give you the green light."

"Yes mom," I say rolling my eyes and yawning. "God if it isn't one Torretto interrupting the kitchen nookie, it's another."

Mia stares at us for a second before declaring very very slowly. "I. Don't. Want. To. Know."

It's a good thing Dom and I are wrapped around each other, cause we start to laugh so hard Vince wouldn't have been the only one who fell on the floor.

Finally Dom ruffles Mia's hair and picks me up off the counter. I expect him to drop me on the ground but he starts toward the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" I ask, staring down at him.

"Time for your nap," Dom says. "And don't get horny, you're sleeping on your own."

"How about you at least spoon up to me?" I suggest as he takes the stairs two at a time.

"What, you in love with me or something?" Dom says as he opens the door and gently places me on the bed.

"Something like that, yeah." I pat the side of the bed, inviting him to occupy it.

He sighs and gets in next to me. "I knew it. Can't live with out me, can you?"

"Don't even want to try," I say thru a yawn.

We talk for about twenty minutes about a mix of things, some important, some not. We've been talking a lot since the last heist. Even in those first two days when we weren't sure how we were all going to regroup or if Jesse was going to make it.

It's been three weeks now and things are great. Jesse staid state side till yesterday, but Brian's brought him down last night. That's the reason I'm so tired today- went to visit him at the private hospital he got transferred to. They say he's getting stronger everyday.

Brian had to go back to Cali to tie up some loose ends. Gonna put this all on Tran and since dead men tell no tales, it'll probably work. I have no problem with it since it was a Tran owned truck that we were avenging in the first place.

Mia managed to get Vince out and join us just as I was at my worst. Mia and Leon had their hands full keeping the three of us healthy, but they managed, thank God.

Dom was up and out of bed before I woke up from this latest nap. I could hear him downstairs talking to Leon about the merits of various cars. Boys will be boys.

I got up and looked in the mirror. My hair was a mess and my skin tone was absolute shit. The bags under my eyes didn't help. Great. I brushed my hair quickly using my good arm and flexed and stretched my bad one to get the circulation going. It was starting to heal pretty nicely but I was going to have a pretty hard core scar. My ribs were getting better, slowly, but like Dom I was still discolored. Yummy.

I walked downstairs and found the boys playing poker. Vince was down to his boxers and Leon wasn't clad in much more. Dom was winning of course.

"Morning sunshine," Leon winked as I sat down on Dom's lap.

Stealing a pretzel from the bowl, I smiled sweetly. "What time is it?"

"Hey, that's the pot man! Dom, tell your girl not to eat my winnings!" Vince yelped all indignant.

"I thought you were playing strip poker," I said taking another pretzel and eating it while staring at Vince.

"Naw man. Guys don't play strip poker unless girls are around," Leon snorted. "Vince is just naked cause he's a heathen."

I stare at the two of them for a second and then just shake my head. Woooh, dizzy. Maybe I'll just lay my head here on Dom's chest. Mmm, nice.

We spend a lot of time cuddling now. We didn't before the heists, not even during that pseudo-honeymoon period before my moms died.

"You hungry?" Dom asks, grabbing some pretzels from the bag and putting them in front of me.

"A little, actually," I say thru a yawn.

It's relaxing sitting here listening to the three of them talk shit to each other. I stretch up slowly and whisper in his ear that I love him. I'm a little shy about since I don't usually tell him that in front of other people.

I can feel him smile. "I love you too baby," he says in Spanish.

I'm surprised because he's said it loud enough for the guys to hear him.

They're both obviously surprised by the profession. They know of course, but like I said, Dom and I have never been big on public pronouncements. PDA maybe, but not the words.

I eat some more pretzels and sit quietly while the game continues. When I've eaten all the pretzels I can stand, I walk to the fridge to look for something a little more exciting.

Mia's in the kitchen reading a magazine. She looks up at me and I swear, within two seconds the concern in her eyes is replaced by thoughts of how she wants to do my hair and what she wants me to wear.

"Don't even, Mia. I'm too tired to play dress up. What's there to eat?" I ask as I poke at the various things in the fridge.

"Left-over lasagna, some chicken, I don't know what else." Mia closes her latest fashion mag and pushes me into a chair. "I'll make you a plate."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I'm such a baby. I'm just so tired all the fucking time."

She glances at me over her shoulder and smiles. "Whatever Let, you deserve to take a little time and be taken care of. You wouldn't let us do shit for you when your mom died and before that you took care of all of us while Dick head was in jail."

"It's not his fault Mia." Even if he wasn't my husband, I'd defend him. "You know he did it all for me. He was just trying to give me something to live for. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"You all told him not to go on the last run," Mia argued.

"Yeah, well, we didn't stop him either, now did we? Sides, it had to end. What we were doing, it was fucked up. I see that now. It may have taken me longer than it did you, but I do see that now."

She rolls her eyes. "No wonder you had to stay back a year. You slow chica."

"Fuck you," I say with affection. "Where's my food bitch?"

"I'm working on it, Jesus. Hold your horses. Why does everything have to be a race with you people?"

"Fast good," I ape. "Speed good."

"Grease monkey."

"Fashion zombie."

"I missed this," Mia says suddenly, giving my good shoulder a squeeze as she put the plate of food in front of me.

I smile and nod, unable to say anything since I've already stuffed my mouth full of chicken. After I finish chewing and finally swallow, I ask her something I know will make her day. "Wanna do my hair for me?"

"Sure. But let's do it on the porch, there's a nice breeze out there."

Mia and I sit out there for almost an hour. My hair didn't take that long normally, but Mia was distracted. She didn't say much, and I didn't push her. I felt bad. This whole thing was tough on her.

"I am sorry Mia. I know this wasn't how you wanted to spend your summer vacation. They did it for me, you know that right?" I finally say. "You shouldn't blame Dom for us being here."

She sits beside me. "We all make our own choices."

I nod but persist. "The whole thing started cause I wanted revenge Mia. Dom did it all for me. They all did. When my mom died- I just lost it. I needed something. We thought this was it."

Mia stares at me like I'm crazy. "Letty you should have known better. There was no way you could have thought this was a good idea. What were you and Dom thinking?"

"He was desperate Mi. I was in a bad way. You said so yourself." I bite my lip and look out at the water. "I'm sorry."

"You were worse than Dom was after Daddy died."

I put my head down on her lap and curl up on the swing. "I was. At least Dom could get angry. I just- I wanted to kill myself Mia. I just didn't have the energy for it. I didn't tell Dom, but I'm sure he knew. He cried Mia. I made him cry…" I let her stroke my hair like my mom used to.

"At first, I think I wanted something to go wrong with the heists so I would just-. But then the thrill was addictive. I never got to be bad before Mia. Sure I act all tough, but shit. I was fucking upstanding, regular G.I. Jane.

"Do you know how addictive being a hard core bad ass was? Racing was fucking pansy ass shit compared to the rush I got when we jacked those first few trucks. The faster we ran, the more furious I got. And all that anger made me so hot that slowly I could feel myself starting to thaw out."

"So those heists, they were like therapy for you?" Mia says slowly.

"Yeah. I guess so." I close my eyes. "I didn't mean to make a mess of things Mia. I'm sorry."

"It's fucked up, but it makes sense. If anyone deserved it, Tran did." Mia nudges me lightly. "But next time Letty- just paint a picture or something, 'kay?"

I nod and smile. "I'll do that."


	31. The End of the Road

**Chapter 31: The End of the Road**

****

After the girly hour was over Mia, Vince and Leon went for a walk on the beach. Dom and I staid back because I was so weak that walking for more than a minute was out of the question. Dom decided to surprise Mia by making chicken parmigiana for dinner while they were out so we spent our time in the kitchen.

"I was thinking," my chef said as he rolled the chicken in some flour.

"Yeah? Did it hurt?"

"Funny. No it didn't hurt." Dom flicked some flour at me. "You gonna be serious for a minute or no?"

"Fine," I say, emphasizing my commitment to the moment by sticking my tongue out at him. "I'm serious. This is me being serious. Seriously."

"I want us to wear our rings Letty."

Ah. Serious.

I don't say anything for a moment. I watch him bread the chicken in smooth, practiced movements he learned from his father. He's watching me watch him, saying nothing, but waiting for me to respond nonetheless.

I nod. "Okay."

He lets out the breath I didn't realize he was holding and looks relieved.

"What?" I ask. I can hear the old me, the hard as nails me in my question. She's defensive, wants to know why her man was worried about what she'd say.

He looks at me hard for a moment, and then decides to proceed as if it was just an echo, a ghost from our past that he heard just now. He speaks honestly like he would to the woman he asked to wear his ring. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it. It went better than I thought is all."

The ghost rolls my eyes, but a smile plays on my lips and I know I'm still in control. "What, did you think I was going to say no?"

Dom shrugs. "You've never really worn it. I wasn't sure if you planned to some day or not. Didn't change your name."

"I really fucked you up, didn't I?" I ask gently, a frown creasing my brow. "I meant to do those things Dom. It just was never the right time. I wanted to wear the ring when we got back together but somehow, at first it was like we were on a trial period. Then you took yours off when we started the heists so I figured that wasn't the right time either."

"It's the right time now Letty. I can feel it, can't you?" Dom smiled. I could see all his love for me in that smile and I knew he was right. "We've been married for almost four years now kid."

"Jesus, has it been that long? And to think you've never given me an anniversary gift," I tease.

"How about for next year's anniversary we have that big wedding?" Dom doesn't look at me as he asks me this. He makes like he's concentrating on the chicken, but I can tell he's just fidgeting, trying to keep busy.

"The one _you've_ always dreamt about?" I ask with a smile.

Dom looks up and knowing he's been caught, winks and nods. "Yeah, that one."

I smile and nod back. "I'd like that Dom."

Grinning from ear to ear, Dom goes to the sink and washes his hands. After drying them on a dish rag he walks up to me and gets down on one knee. "Will you marry me again?" he asks as he offers me my ring.

"Yes," I say simply, offering him my hand. He slips the ring on and then kisses my fingers. He pulls his own ring out then and offers it to me. I slip it on to his left hand and kiss his fingers just the way he'd done mine.

"I was going to get you a diamond with the money from the last heist," Dom says as he strokes my cheek. "I'll get one by the wedding, okay?"

"I don't need a diamond Dom," I say tremulously, trying not to let the tears spill out of my eyes. I kiss his bald head and stroke his cheek, gently scratching behind his ear.

"Woooh- ah, we can come back later if-" Leon says as he bursts into the kitchen, startling us.

"Shut up Leon," I say, rolling my eyes at him but taking the time to kiss Dom's forehead once again before standing up and pulling him to his feet with me.

Leon, Vince and Mia look at each other. Leon and Vince were closest to the door so Mia hadn't seen exactly what was going on. But she did see the rings.

"Oh My God. Did you just propose to her? Did he Letty? He did, didn't you Dom- you proposed!" Christ, I'd forgotten what a girly girl she can be.

Dom looks a little helpless, he's so flustered. It's cute.

"Mia, Mia, calm down," he says without success. "Shit, a little help would be nice Let."

I smirk as I watch Mia engulf her older brother in a huge hug. The boys are still standing in the doorway looking like deer caught in the headlights. You'd think they were the ones who'd just given up bachelorhood.

"Mia, Dom and I- we're already married." I say as Mia leaves Dom's side only to smother me.

She pulls back and looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Say what?"

"They got married before Dom went upstate," Leon supplies helpfully.

Mia's eyes narrow. I hear Vince go, "For real?" but its Mia who's reaction is of greatest concern.

"Is he serious?" Mia asks. "You're telling me that _Leon_ knew you two were married but I didn't know?"

"I didn't fucking tell him," I said defensively.

"You told Leon but not me?" Vince sputters staring at Dom.

"I didn't tell him nothing!" Dom roars. "Will everyone just chill the fuck out?"

For a moment the kitchen is quiet.

Then Mia speaks. "Would you like to tell me exactly how you knew Dom and Letty were married Leon?"

"I just found out for sure a couple of weeks ago. Dom was ranting about it when he was wasted that night." Leon shrugs and moves to the fridge to get a brew.

"You said for sure. You knew before that?" I ask somewhat bewildered.

Leon rubs his chin and nods. "Your grams said something about it a couple of times in Spanish. I wasn't sure so I didn't say nothing. Especially back then cause you two weren't doing so hot."

Unfortunately Mia lost interest in Leon at that point and directed her energy toward us. "You've been married for three years now and you didn't think to tell any of us?"

"I didn't want you to think we did it just for you Mia," I say weakly. "It just made things easier with the businesses and legal custody and I even got paid more by the Army cause of it."

Mia turns to Dom and starts hitting him. "That means you cheated on Letty when you were Married!"

Dom looks at us for help. Frankly though I'm 95 over it, I'm not opposed to Mia's current course of action.

"Mia-" Dom starts. "It was a long time ago- things were really messed up then. I was messed up. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life making it up to her, I swear to God."

"You're So lucky Jesse isn't here for this," Mia scowls.

Dom nods in agreement, knowing it's true.

"That's why you wouldn't come back right away," Vince says slowly. "It was more than just a mess up, it was nuclear."

"Uh, could we not dwell on what a total asshole I was please?" Dom says nervously.

I smirk, but decide to let him off the hook. "Anyway," I say, taking pity on him, "we're past that now. We're in a good place."

"That's why you broke out the rings?" Leon says as he sits down at the seat next to mine and takes a long drink.

"Yeah." I nudge him. "You okay with that?"

He tilts his head and stares at Dom, rubbing his chin again. "Just don't go and tell my next girl that Dom cooks for you, kay?"

Maybe Leon's the newest to the team, but he knew exactly what to say to make things right.

Our troubles forgotten, Mia slides in next to Dom and helps him with dinner on the condition that we spill the story.

"We got married almost four years ago, like Leon said. Right before I went away," Dom explains as he turns the stove on.

"And what was the wedding like?" Mia asks. Trust her to be obsessed with the ceremony.

"We got married at the court house. It was really fast, not that exciting," Dom says. "I always planned on doing it right when I got out but well. Anyways we're sort of thinking of having a big thing next year."

"What about the 5-0?" Vince asked sinking into an open chair at the table.

"Brian pinned it on Tran. Since both he and Lance are dead they can't protest much," Mia interjected as she threw a couple of pieces of chicken into the frier.

"No shit?" I asked surprised.

Mia nods. "Even Vince is off the hook. I don't know how Brian pulled that off, but he did."

"He did suggest we wait till you're all healed before we go back. Hard to explain some of your injuries." Mia started blush under our collected gazes. "What?"

"How'd you find this out?" Vince sounds tired. I can't blame him. He loves Mia. He knew Brian wasn't Kosher. And yet now we all owe Brian and Vince still doesn't get the girl.

"I told her to call him," Dom says. "Just to thank him and tell him whatever she needed to tell him." He looks at Vince expecting a challenge. None came.

I watch this all quietly and remember how hard it was for me when I came home to find Dom and the princess of puke together.

Vince sighs and rubs at his cast. "That's good then." He gets up and walks outside.

For a moment no one says anything, but eventually I stand up and go after him. Of the five of us, only I know what it's like to love a Torretto and wonder if they'll ever love you back the way you need them to love you.

He makes it hard to catch up with him. He's walking so fast I worry that I'm going to pass out just trying to catch up to him.

"Vince," I jog to catch up. I grab his good arm. "Vince."

"What?" He's tearing. I've never seen him cry.

"Let me walk with you." I loop my arm into his and slowly walk along the beach with him.

He sniffs that same way Dom does when Dom's "not" crying.

"This sucks Letty. I want to hate him but I'm not allowed."

"I know." I'm panting a little cause this is more exercise than I should be getting. It's okay, Vince has gone through a hell of a lot more than I am right now for me. I owe him.

But Vince slows down as soon as he realizes I'm not doing so well. I'm more than happy to follow his lead when he sits down.

"I felt the same when Dom got out of jail, only it was different I guess. He hated me and I'd done the best I could. Now you… you did the best you could too, but you don't get to be right, even though you are." I lean my head on his shoulder. "Does that make sense?"

"Damn straight it does," Vince spits. "He saved my life but what good did that do? He took everything I loved away from me."

I wanted to tell him that Brian didn't really take Mia away from Vince since she'd never been his, but sometimes the truth hurts just too much. Instead I tried to offer him what comfort I could. "You still have Dom. And you definitely still have me. Sure Brian saved our asses, but I figure he owes it to us since he did try to screw us first."

Vince just snorts and stares out at the waves. I know it hurts Coyote. I know it does.

"Guaranteed you'll be Dom's Best Man at the wedding. And since Mia'll be my maid of honor, you'll get to walk her down the isle at lest once in your lifetime." When Vince just nods I decide to go all out and try to make him laugh. "Fuck it, I promise if we have to let Brian be in it, he'll be something pansy like an usher or some shit like that, kay? I don't want anyone prettier than me in the wedding party."

That gets a laugh out of him. "Shit Let, that means you can't have Mia as your bride's maid."

"Fuck you," I say good naturedly as I punch him. "You are so lucky you're pathetic right now. Otherwise I'd kick your ass for that comment."

He grins and we sit there till it starts to get cold. Dinner's ready when we get back. By unspoken agreement no one asks us where we've been. Being a Team means we know how to read each other. We know when to ask questions and when to let things ride. This was one of those times the crew just knew things were better and didn't need to know why or how.

We went back a few weeks later.

Mia starts at UCLA next term. She still doesn't know why Dom's so set on her becoming a doctor. I want to tell her sometimes just so she'll quit giving him shit when he tries to push her. But that's his secret to tell her, not mine.

I don't know what's going on with Mia and Brian. I'll accept him for her, but he's not close to my heart yet.

Jesse's doing better. He's home now and playing with the computer night and day. He spends every waking hour designing super cars. Trans death meant he got to keep the Jetta, but it also cured him of the need to actually be behind the wheel during a race. Thankfully the scars on his body have helped him pick up a few chicks here and there, so he doesn't feel like he's less of a man for not racing. To be honest his new found status of ladies man probably helped make the scars on his psyche fade a little faster too.

Leon's… Leon. He's still around, backing the underdog. Sometimes its Jesse, sometimes its Vince. Once in a great while it's even Dom. As long as he's happy, I'm happy for him.

Vince's story might have the most surprising ending out of everyone on the Team. He went back to school; would you believe he wants to be a paramedic? I guess almost loosing your arm can be inspiring.

Dom helps Vince study sometimes. We've been pretty busy recently though, so Dom doesn't get to fit as much time in with the books as he'd like. The garage, the store, the house, everything. Dom's been trying to set up the whole wedding thing too. He's in charge of the venue and catering. He put me in charge of flowers, invitations and our wardrobe. Sounds like a fair division of labor, but I know better. The bastard had Abuela do most of the leg work on choosing the location. If I didn't love him so much I'd give him shit for it.

As for me, these days I'm happy, both with and without Dom. I've spent so long either doing for or doing with him that I'd forgotten what and who I was.

Just because I chose to be Mrs. Torretto four years ago and I'll choose to be her again next s

spring, it doesn't mean I have to stop being Letty. It took me a long time to realize that, but now that I know, I hope I never forget it.

I started sketching again. It's the first time I've really done any work of my own outside of the journals and the garage in almost five years. God I didn't realize how much a part of me a canvas is.

I started a sketch of the wedding. I know it hasn't happened yet, but it helps me to plan things out when I can show other people what I'm envisioning.

I see Vince standing beside Dom.

I see Mia standing across the isle as my maid of honor.

Jesse is walking me down the isle while Leon waits at the head of the church waiting to officiate the ceremony for us.

I haven't broken it to Leon that he's going to have to become a man of the cloth, but it just seems so right. He's always had faith in Team Torretto, he's always kept the peace. I'm hoping he'll be okay with it.

Dom used to say he lived his life a quarter mile at a time. I can't tell you what'll we'll find at the end of the race, let alone around the next bend in the course we're on. What I can tell you is that for me and mine the road seems clear for the first time in a long time. As long as we have each other, that's all I can ask for.

**THE END.******

**A/N: **Don't freak out. I have another D&L story written. I'll try to post it soon. And maybe, just maybe, if there's enough demand I'll do an epilogue for this one too.


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